Representative Christopher Shays, of the 4th Congressional District, will face yet another strong challenger for his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives this fall.  Greenwich Democratic Town Committee Chairman Jim Himes will make a bid for the seat that Shays has held since 1987. 

Representative Shays has long been noted for his fiscal conservatism - maintaining a seat on the Financial Services Committee, which deals with numerous issues critical to many Fairfield County residents.  Shays is also widely respected for his willingness to work across party lines on a host of issues - most recently highlighted by his work with Congressman Jim Langevin of Rhode Island on a universal health care plan.   Congressman Shays has been outspoken in the fight on terrorism.  Taking his oversight role as a legislator seriously, Shays has visited Iraq 19 times since 2003 - visiting Iraq almost once a quarter to ascertain on-the-ground reports about the situation.  The residents of the Fourth District have consistently endorsed Shays’ work, returning him to Congress despite several aggressive challenges in recent years.

The proof is apparent in Shays’ fundraising efforts - with much of his financial backing coming from past donors.  According to the Hartford Courant:

That job is made easier by Shays’ long history in the 4th District, where he’s held elective office for 32 years. More than 70 percent of the people who have contributed more than $250 to his current campaign so far also gave to the 2006 race.”Our contributor base has grown from year to year wonderfully, and we appreciate it very much,” Sohn said. “When I started with Chris [in 2002] we had a donor base of just under 4,000 people. Our donor base is now well over 7,000.”

In contrast, according to the same Courant article Mr. Himes has raised more than half of his money from outside the state of Connecticut.

While most of Shays’ individual donations to date have been provided by Connecticut residents, more than half of Himes’ money has come from out of state. Half of the out-of-state contributions are from New York; the next largest source is California.

There is little doubt that the race for the 4th District will again be full of vigor - as is well suited to our democracy. But it seems apparent at this moment that the same high quality level of service provided to his constituents over the past years will propel Congressman Shays to another celebratory Election Night on November 4th, 2008.