Unaffiliated voters still the story of the election
Last week’s CTInsider article “Blue State, Red Towns” emphasized how and why Connecticut has over 100 localities with Republican mayors or first selectmen. But our state is more nuanced than being simply “blue” or “red” in some areas. Connecticut voters are a complex lot, and the highest number of us (41 percent) are not even registered with a political party.
As the article points out, Republicans usually turn out more than Democrats in state and local races unless it’s a competitive election. And many local Republican officials are more relatable to their constituents. As much as the media and many Democrats link the national party to local officials, the article reminds readers that many voters recognize that generalizing all candidates in one party hardly works in many Connecticut towns.
Certainly, Connecticut has many rural areas where Republicans generally win. “The short answer is that Republicans win a lot of small towns, just as Republicans in presidential races win a lot of rural counties, making the vast majority of the U.S. political map red, by area. That’s not a new trend this year,” says the article.
But the piece overlooked that many Connecticut voters lean red or blue but are not registered with a political party. And many Connecticut municipalities have one dominant party, which tends to foster little party competition and fewer candidates.
Ideally, then, the two major political parties should find ways to lure unaffiliated voters on Election Day. But party leaders rarely try to court these voters, and why would they bother?
Many major party officials recognize the leaners are hardly a reliable base, as they may be more Democratic or Republican for certain candidates and elections. Plus, our state has closed primaries, meaning that a voter has to declare party affiliation to participate in primary elections.
But younger and newer Connecticut voters are overwhelmingly unaffiliateds, and they are the ones who hardly participate in local elections. So Connecticut’s major parties barely grow, and they do not institute reforms, while third parties try to recruit voters and candidates.
Third parties are a difficult sell in many Connecticut municipalities, however, and they rarely win state elections. Certainly, the Working Families Party has made some inroads in local elections, especially in urban areas. But West Hartford failed to elect A Connecticut Party candidates in council races this month.
Ultimately, unaffiliated voters are an opportunity that major parties squander, especially in local elections.
As a former local Republican Party chairman and state party committeeman, I highly doubt Connecticut’s party leaders will address significant reforms like having open primaries (for all voters to elect a party candidate), nonpartisan elections (so any candidate can run without a primary election), ranked choice voting (for voters to preferenceorder candidates) or ending the candidate convention process.
Instead, party officials would rather put their energy into a dutiful base than fickle unaffiliated voters. Even if the unaffiliated voters have the numbers, they cannot participate in primary elections, and they hardly turn out in local races.
Connecticut, the “Land of Steady Habits,” thus remains Democratic in national and state elections (blue state) and Republican in a majority of executive offices in municipalities (red localities). We are a complicated state with complex municipalities. But we also have a nonreform-oriented party system in a state that has more unaffiliated voters than Democratic or Republican ones. Connecticut, then, is a traditionalist and evergrowing individualistic state and more than just a “blue state.” Maybe we can simply call ourselves New Englanders — if we dared.