West Hartford Town Councilor Joe Visconti announced his candidacy yesterday in a daylong bus tour of Connecticut’s First Congressional District.  Visconti will challenge Rep. John Larson in the November election.  The Visconti Announcement Tour visited Torrington, Bristol, Hartford, and Manchester during the course of the day.

The highlights from the tour are positive for Visconti’s effort.  From the Bristol Press:

Visconti said the man he aims to unseat, 10-year incumbent Democrat John Larson, “is part of the establishment” and hasn’t done enough to bring down spending and taxes.

From the Torrington Register-Citizen:

“After more than 50 years of one-party dominance, today marks the beginning of Connecticut’s recovery…where special interest groups no longer dictate policy and where all residents have an opportunity to realize the American Dream,” Visconti began.

The best line of the day easily belonged to the Register-Citizen, when they took Rep. Larson to task for not showing up in Torrington. Must be too far a drive.

A new candidate came to town Thursday, hoping to win over voters who may never have even seen his incumbent competition.

The Hartford Courant’s On Background blog also covered Visconti’s announcement:

One of the House’s leading Democrats, five-term Rep. John Larson, may actually have somebody who wants his job. It seems that Joseph Visconti, a Republican member of the West Hartford town council, wants to shove the son of East Hartford right out of his 1st District throne.

If you get a free minute, check out Joe Visconti’s new website.  You can also see a few of the pictures from Visconti’s Manchester announcement here.