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Poll Shows Himes Holds Slight Lead Over Debicella

Rep. Jim Himes is shown to have a slight edge over challenger Dan Debicella in a race for Connecticut's 4th District.

Congressman Jim Himes (D-4) might need no introduction among local voters but still he commands only a small lead against his opponent, State Sen. Dan Debicella, according to a recent poll.

Himes enjoys strong name recognition among area voters, at 93 percent compared with just 35 percent who know the name Debicella, according to the survey conducted for the conservative American Action Forum by Ayres & McHenry Associates. But Himes only leads by four points - 46 percent would vote for Himes compared to 42 percent who would vote for Debicella.

The AAF conducted the poll throughout 12 congressional districts on the east coast, including Fairfield County. Pollsters questioned 400 people in the 4th district, the majority of whom said they "leaned" Republican.

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America is on the wrong track, according to 63 percent of those polled. The economy, government spending, and job creation topped their list of concerns.

However, those polled said they think Himes will do the right thing to fix the health care reform bill. And voters view Himes as more honest and trustworthy than Debicella, at 27 percent compared to 14 percent.

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"Dan Debicella will dribble out countless distortions and selective polls between now and November to raise money and publicity to take us back to their failed ideas that hurt middle class families and let Wall Street, big oil and the credit card companies do whatever they want and nearly bankrupt our economy," said Mark Henson, Himes' campaign manager, in a written statement. 

Yet the margin shrunk when the question addressed which candidate would positively affect the country.  Twenty-six percent of those polled said Himes would promote beneficial national policies compared with 24 percent who said Debicella would promote good policies.

Still the poll heartens the Debicella camp, headquartered in Norwalk.

"It's very, very clear that Fairfield County is tired of the failed policies that Jim Himes has rubber stamped," said Jason Perillo, campaign manager for Debicella. "The people know who Jim Himes is and they associate all of [Washington] D.C.'s failures with him."

In mid-term races across the nation, the GOP is linking President Barack Obama's ratings with that of Democratic incumbents. Obama's approval rating hovers around 53 percent in the Nutmeg State, according to a Quinnipiac Poll released in June. That's down from a high of 71 percent in April 2009.

That voters believe Debicella will do a better job controlling spending and keeping taxes low is a good sign, Perillo said.

Perillo points to the 42 percent of residents who said they would be less likely to support Himes because he would consider raising capital gains taxes and letting the Bush tax cuts expire on households earning $250,000 or more.

"Fairfield County will have one of the highest, if not the highest, tax increases in the nation, and Jim Himes wants those tax cuts to expire," Perillo said.

Former GOP Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Douglas Holtz-Eakin, senior policy advisor during Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, started the nonprofit American Action Forum. The group's members are predominantly Republican, including former Florida governor Jeb Bush and former head of the Republican Party Ed Gillespie.

"The truth is, when voters know the choice between Jim Himes' thoughtful and independent approach to job creation and Dan Debicella's reckless and radical record of supporting insurance companies over deaf children and cancer patients, they're going to choose Jim," Henson said in a written statement.

On the eve of his victory in the 4th District GOP Primary, however, State Rep. John Hetherington said that he expected area Republicans to rally around Debicella. Some of Hetherington's comments, as well as the bulk of Debicella's acceptance speech (during which he frequently challenges Himes' record and stances), are included in videos along with this article.

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