Political Capitol

Republican Oz Griebel, a businessman from the Hartford region (he lives in Simsbury), got dissed in today’s latest Rasmussen poll, but he got a nice little boost this evening with the endorsement of state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield.

And considering that Griebel’s chief opponents are from Fairfield County, and one of them is the Lt. Governor that McKinney’s been working with for the past few legislative sessions, this is kind of a big, out-of-left-field deal for a guy who hasn’t really been registering in the polls.

“At the end of the day I think we have a field of very good candidates but I believe that he’s the type of dynamic leader who can connect with various different groups of people in the state of Connecticut, whether it’s a business person from Fairfield County or people from Litchfield County or the New London County area,” McKinney just told me by phone. “I think Oz can connect with every day people across the state and I think he has a vision and an ability to share that vision with people better than any other candidate in the field.”

But what about Lt. Governor Michael Fedele of Stamford, who McKinney has worked with for the past few years at the capitol in Hartford?

“I consider Mike Fedele a friend, I respect him greatly, I think he would make a very good Governor,” McKinney said. “I did talk to Mike today to inform him of my decision. It was a very difficult phone call but at the end of the day Oz because he hasn’t ever been involved with politics or government, he stands alone as the only outsider running for Governor and I think he has the ability to be that bold leader without any ties to the old way of doing things in Hartford.”

At this point I must add McKinney is himself a pretty big insider being not only a state GOP leader but the son of a late and well-regarded U.S. Congressman from Fairfield County.

I noted Fedele and Tom Foley of Greenwich have been considered the Republican front runners, with Foley THE front runner and the nominating convention later this month.

“I think right now a large majority of the delegates are undecided. What I wanted to do now with my endorsement was to give Oz that chance to really go out there as a candidate for the party,” McKinney said. “Clearly he’s got a lot of work to do, but if Connecticut Republicans  for purposes of the Republican nomination and Connecticut residents just give a chance to meet and listen to and watch Oz, they will see the same type of dynamic personality I’ve seen. I think he may start out behind but at the end of the day he’s going to catch fire.”

And there’s your campaign slogan right there: “Oz Griebel: At the end of the day he’s going to catch fire”…

I’ve noted on this blog previously that Griebel appears intent on positioning himself as the non-partisan Republican who can work with both parties (Connecticut, despite electing Republican CEOs like the retiring Gov. M. Jodi Rell trends blue and we’ve got a veto-proof Democratic majority legislature).

And McKinney, while willing to work with the opposing party, is no stranger to taking shots at legislative Democrats and tossing out a little tasty red meat once in while for the press to serve up.

“He’s certainly a Republican through and through in terms of his understanding of the budget and his fiscal philosophy. But I don’t think he’s trying to be partisan. I don’t think he’s the person who points fingers. And because he hasn’t had involvement with politics, he can say ‘here’s the problems we have before us, let’s sit down and solve them.’ That’s what we need right now,” McKinney said.