Former Rep. Christopher Shays has not endorsed a candidate in the crowded Republican primary for the Connecticut seat he lost to Democrat Jim Himes in 2008. But Shays' wife has a dog in the 4th District fight.
Elizabeth Shays donated $500 to former state Sen. Rob Russo on Sept. 30, the last day of the third-quarter reporting period, according to federal campaign finance information.
While the former congressman, a GOP moderate who served from 1987 until this January, isn't taking sides yet himself, there is a clear connection to Russo. A former aide to Shays, Russo also currently is his lawyer.
He is one of four candidates running for the GOP nomination to challenge Himes. The others are state Sen. Dan Debicella; Will Gregory, a former campaign staffer to Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain; and businessman Rob Merkle.
National Republicans say they will stage a targeted effort to oust Himes before he can get settled comfortably into the seat in the 4th, a mainly affluent district located in Connecticut's suburbs of New York City. But it won't be easy.
Hines won a rather close race, by 51 percent to 48 percent, to defeat Shays in 2008. But the district, which not long ago was very competitive if not slightly Republican-leaning, has shifted strongly Democratic, with voters there favoring Barack Obama for president in 2008 with 60 percent of their votes.
CQ Politics currently rates the 4th District race as Likely Democratic
To see how all of the 2010 House races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics' election map.
-- Shira Toeplitz
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