Connecticut

The Connecticut race for the Senate seat vacated by three-term Senator Abraham Ribicoff (D-Conn) offers a refreshing palliative to the overly personalized presidential contest. James Buckley, former New York senator in the '70s and Christopher Dodd, popular three-term congressman from Connecticut, present clear ideological choices, opposing each other on just about every issue.

Buckley, the conservative, and elder brother of William F. Buckley Jr., advocates a 10 per cent across-the-board tax cut, the rejection of the SALT II treaty and a bigger defense budget. Dodd, the liberal Democrat, opposes a tax cut on inflationary grounds, favors SALT II and calls for only limited increases in defense spending. While Buckley wants a diminished presence of the federal Government in the lives of Americans, Dodd focuses on the need for more effective government involvement.

In a state where Democrats and Independents outnumber Republicans by a factor of 2-to-1, Dodd seems to benefit from a comfortable advantage. A recent poll in the Hartford Courant gives Dodd the lead with 55 per cent of the vote to Buckley's 31 per cent. Sid Gardner, who manages John Anderson's campaign in Connecticut, predicts a decisive win for Dodd. Buckley, Gardner observes, "has had some difficulty shaking his staunch conservative image." With this reputation gone unchallenged, Buckley will have little chance at rallying those pivotal blue-collar Independent votes.

Though Dodd has established himself as the popular favorite, mood at Buckley campaign headquarters remains optimistic. Ed Marabito, assistant press secretary for the Buckley campaign, acknowledges that the race "has always been an uphill fight," but that Buckley has picked up steam all along the way." Steam, however, is not expected to produce victory this week.