Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

The following story first appeared on Ron Winter's blog, A Winter's Soldier Story . It is reproduced here with permission because I like good political literature. The 13th Candidate: Enfield CT, GOP Victory Provides Template for National Campaigns Enfield Connecticut is a village/small city with a cohesive downtown area surrounded by tracts of open space punctuated by subdivisions. A large shopping mall anchors the commercial district, Interstate 91 bisects the community on its way from Hartford to Springfield, Massachusetts, providing quick access for the struggling industrial base, and the Connecticut River establishes Enfield's western border. The population of 45,000 residents is a relatively stable blue collar/white collar mix, and at election time most candidates are known to the voters for their other activities in the community as well as their politics. Like many similar communities across the nation Enfield is facing serious financial issues from burgeoning schoo...