In March, the Republican ranks grew with the addition of now State Senator Rob Russo to the Connecticut State Senate.  That victory broke the Democratic supermajority in the General Assembly and represented the first positive movement for Republican numbers in recent memory.  Along with the January victory of Sen. Rob Kane from Watertown and the strong leadership of Sen. John McKinney, the Senate Republican Caucus has had the momentum on their side.

The conventional wisdom, of course, is that the special election victories were nice, but the coming turnout of the Democratic base will once again spell disaster for Republicans in November 2008.  The conventional wisdom hasn’t realized yet that the presumptive Republican nominee John S. McCain will make Connecticut competitive for the first time since 1988.  And it also has yet to fully appreciate the strong GOP candidate recruitment season.

Which brings us to this evening’s announcement of candidacy for former State Representative David Blackwell, of Manchester.  Blackwell announced that he will be running for the Fourth Senatorial District seat, currently held by ten year incumbent Mary Ann Handley.  Mr. Blackwell took to the podium in the Fireside Commons at Manchester Community College to talk about the challenges facing Connecticut and his desire to be part of the solution. 

Blackwell cited the high cost of doing business in Connecticut, spurred by high taxes, burdensome regulations, and skyrocketing electricity prices.  He spoke of how this high cost of living drives young workers out of the Hartford suburbs and into other states - like Oregon, Arkansas, and Alabama.  And he reminded the room of nearly 60 guests that too many of our fellow citizens in Connecticut are homeless, and it is our civic obligation to help them.  The energy in the room was palpable as Blackwell finished his 10 minute speech, and the applause was raucous.

With candidates like David Blackwell stepping up to challenge heavily entrenched Democrats, and other terrific Republican candidates signing up to fight along side him, November could be very interesting for the Connecticut State Senate and House of Representatives.

Check out the photos of the event!