Lt. Governor candidate David Walker speaks to his supporters at Local Kitchen and Beer Bar in Fairfield, Conn. on Tuesday August 12, 2014.
For a political party in the grips of a famine, there appears to be little appetite in the Connecticut GOP to put a challenger up against U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in 2016 — until now perhaps.
Undeterred by his third-place finish in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor, former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker is quietly putting out feelers on a race that some in the party have quietly written off, Hearst Connecticut Media has learned.
“When I ran for lieutenant governor, I had many people tell me that I was shooting too low and that I should be running for governor or U.S. Senate,” Walker told Hearst Wednesday. “There’s no question that I believe that I’m qualified to run for U.S. Senate.”
Walker, 63, a Bridgeport resident who led the Government Accountability Office under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, emphasized that he has made no decisions on his political future and said he turned down the National Republican Senatorial Committee when it tried to recruit him to run against Democrat Chris Murphy in 2012.
“I don’t know that I’ll ever be running for office again,” Walker said. “(But) if I do, If I do I won’t shoot low again.”
Blumenthal, 68, Connecticut’s former longtime attorney general, dispatched Republican Linda McMahon by 12 percentage points in the 2010 election despite a $50 million personal investment in the race by the wrestling matriarch.
“Senator Blumenthal is a great politician,” Walker said. “He’s a household name, but he’s accomplished little to nothing in Washington, D.C. Blumenthal is beatable, but it would be a very difficult race. You’d have to have a top quality candidate who could appeal to unaffiliated voters and reform-minded Democrats.”
Blumenthal, a Greenwich resident who is among the wealthiest members of the Senate, hasn’t indicated whether he plans to seek a second term in 2016.
“I am completely focused on working for the people of Connecticut as their U.S. senator and love the job of advocating and fighting for them,” Blumenthal said Wednesday. “I’ll make an announcement on my plans at the appropriate time.”
The last time a Connecticut Republican won a statewide race or congressional election was 2006. The top of the GOP ticket was shut out once again in the Nov. 4 midterm election, bucking a national trend of Republican success at the polls. With the presidential election coming up in 2016, Connecticut’s GOP is already bracing for a huge turnout for Democrats, who nearly outnumber Republicans 2-to-1 in party enrollment.
“I’m making the case for a qualified Republican, but I’m not necessarily making the case for me,” Walker said.
Not long after losing a three-way Republican primary for lieutenant governor to former Groton Mayor Heather Bond Somers, Walker listed his waterfront home in Bridgeport’s Black Rock section on the market for $1.675 million, fueling speculation that he would leave the state and perhaps return to Washington.
Walker said Wednesday that the home, previously owned by former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., is being taken off the multiple listing service but will still be for sale privately. While he said he has no plans to leave Connecticut, Walker said he and his wife don’t need a home as big as the one they currently have.
Walker teamed with John McKinney during the GOP primary race, helping the state Senate minority leader from Fairfield qualify for taxpayer funding for McKinney’s unsuccessful run for governor. The tandem lost separately to Tom Foley and Somers, who were paired together for the general election and were defeated by Democratic incumbents Dannel P. Malloy and Nancy Wyman.
“There’s no question that I wanted Tom to win,” Walker said. “And there’s also no question that I would have been a stronger running mate and significantly increased our chances to win, but that’s water over the dam.”