A Quinnipiac survey of 945 registered Connecticut voters found Democrat Joe Biden 23 points ahead of Republican Donald Trump in the contest for president.

State voters by a margin of 78%-17% approve of Governor Ned Lamont’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Lamont enjoys an overall 65-22 job approval rating, numbers a governor of Connecticut have not seen in many years.

The numbers on the economy are bleak and likely to grow worse. Just 24% of respondents say the state’s economy is good. Almost half, 46%, said it was not-so-good. They were joined by 26% who said the economy is poor.

Fifty-nine percent of Connecticut voters surveyed are in no rush for the economy to be free of coronavirus restrictions put into place in March to keep the state’s healthcare system from being overwhelmed by the rapidly spreading virus. That figure was steady across the tristate region.

Read more here.

Fifth District Republican congressional hopeful David X. Sullivan has won the endorsement of beloved former U.S. Representative Nancy Johnson as delegates prepare for their first virtual convention on May 14th.

Johnson served in Congress for 24 years. She was first elected to the Sixth CD seat in 1982, defeating Democrat Bill Curry for the open seat. Johnson held that seat for 20 years. The indefatigable Republican defeated Democratic incumbent James Maloney in 2002 when their seats were merged as a result of the 2000 census. Johnson was defeated for a 13th term by Christopher Murphy in the Republican annus horribilis of 2006.

Sullivan, a retired federal prosecutor, also won the support of 2018 Republican nominee for governor, Robert Stefanowski. Stefanowski, who spent millions of his own money in a losing bid against Democrat Ned Lamont, has contributed $2,000 to the New Fairfield Republican frontrunner. Amy Stefanowski, who serves as the Republican town chair in Madison and a member of the party’s state committee, contributed $1,000.

State Senator Gennaro Bizzarro (R-New Britain) contributed $250 to Sullivan. Bizzarro is a superdelegate to the nominating convention. Bizzarro scored an upset in 2019 in a special election called after Lamont appointed supporters to pension-boosting positions in his administrations, just weeks after they had sought election to state office.

It won’t work on him. Ned Lamont is not Dannel P. Malloy or M. Jodi Rell. That has not stopped veteran lobbyists Patrick Sullivan and Paddi LeShane from creating and displaying a cloying “Love the Gov” bag-turned-sign in front of their Prospect Avenue home, eight houses from the Governor’s Residence.

Slobbering is not thought by observers to be a strategy that works on Lamont.

Sullivan and LeShane lobbied for Stamford when Malloy was mayor and preparing to run for governor. He remained close to the surly, unpopular governor, who Sullivan referred to as “Danny,” during his eight calamitous years in office. Sullivan, a Republican most of the time, was a longtime, ardent supporter of Joseph Lieberman, who Lamont engaged in an epic contest in 2006.

Lamont has restored public confidence in state government with his steady leadership during the global public health crisis. A note, email or text would suffice. Crikey, find a way that doesn’t make denizens of the Capitol village retch.

It always hurts. Litchfield Republican delegates to the 5th Congressional District nominating convention have endorsed retired federal prosecutor David Sullivan over local Republican Ryan Meehan.

Endorsement gives frontrunner Sullivan the five delegates chosen by the Litchfield party town committee. In addition, a state central committee member and state Representative David Wilson have endorsed Sullivan. Meehan, recently of Texas and Greenwich, registered to vote in Litchfield at the start of the year.

In other 5th district news, Waterbury Republican Rueben Rodriguez ended his race for the nomination Tuesday. Rodriguez offered this earnest statement on Facebook.

The virtual nominating convention is scheduled for May 14th.

State Representative Themis Klarides (R-Derby) collected enough campaign contributions to qualify for public financing for a re-election bid. The House Minority Leader issued an abrupt announcement last week that she will not seek a 12th term.

Klarides received her first first one January 8th and her last contribution on March 4th. She raised $7,034 from 209 contributions in the first quarter of the year, according to her campaign finance report filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission on April 14th.

Red November Strategies of Milford had been hired and paid $666.25 on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday to design and host a campaign website.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) told talk radio host Hugh Hewitt that “he favors allowing states struggling with high public employee pension costs amid the burdens of the pandemic response to declare bankruptcy rather than giving them a federal bailout,” according to a Bloomberg report.

Hewitt pointed to California, Illinois, and Connecticut as high pension obligation states that may need federal money as the Covid-19 pandemic increases expenses while revenues decline. McConnell said bankruptcy protection has “saved some cities” and allowed them to address long term deficits.

Connecticut will see a budget deficit of several hundred million dollars this year, but the state’s finances are robust enough to make longevity payments to state employees this week.

Some medicine until a vaccine arrives.

They finally had enough. House Republicans used their unique coronavirus sabbatical from the legislative session to examine their leadership. Caucus members began to let the word go forth that House Minority Leader Themis Klarides (R-Derby) has been found wanting. Klarides announced Tuesday morning in a statement released by the House Republican office that she will not seek a 12th term. “Times change and we have to move on and make decisions about balancing life and how we can best serve those that rely on us,’’ Klarides said. “This is the end of an extremely fulfilling and challenging chapter in my life. But anyone who knows me understands that my commitment to public service is ongoing.”

Klarides, elected to the House in 1998, is completing her third term as the distant leader of the House Republicans. Discontent in the diminished ranks of the House Republican caucus had been growing, Daily Ructions can report. A defeat for leader of the caucus after this November’s election would have squashed Klarides’s hopes for higher office.

Retired federal prosecutor David X. Sullivan has built a commanding lead over rival candidates for the 5th CD Republican nomination to face first term incumbent Democrat Jahana Hayes. Sullivan reported at the end of the first quarter of the year raising around $135,000.

Bizarre hopeful Robert Hyde, of Simsbury and the bar at the DC Trump hotel, has raised a few dollars shy of $25,000. That’s a couple of thousand dollars more than Ryan Meehan, recently of Texas and Greenwich, who recently moved into the district to make the race. Meehan’s poor fundraising will come as a disappointment to his campaign consultants. A fourth candidate, Ruben Rodriguez, a Waterbury Republican, has raised less than $4,000.

The unique coronavirus has halted traditional campaigning and fundraising. Town committees meet by phone or internet, if at all. Delegates are unavailable for the usual get-together with eager candidates. Glad-handing is verboten. Delegate isolating is especially hard for candidates who entered the race late, like Meehan, though will be a mercy for Hyde and party activists who want to avoid him.

Delegates will meet by some means in May to pick an endorsed candidate.

Connecticut State Police are warning the public to be on the watch for fraudulent medical supplies offers. The agency has been using its @CT_STATE_POLICE Twitter account to offer a stream of warnings to state residents of bad actors in the midst of a global pandemic. Other warnings include online phishing schemes and stimulus scams.

It is especially important, as the State Police have found, to beware of counterfeit and defective safety equipment.