The Campaign: II

At about 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, when the evening's first election returns begin to come in, trend-conscious political experts will immediately focus their attention on the results from Hartford, Connecticut, which are usually among the first to arrive. Hartford is heavily Democratic, so there is not much question which candidates will be in the lead there, but experts will be very interested in the exact size of the Democratic majorities. If, for example, the first half of Hartford's polling places give Abraham A. Ribicoff, the Democratic candidate for governor, a lead of more than 14,000 votes over Republican Governor John Davis Lodge '25, then the G.O.P. will lose the Connecticut governorship, and probably Congress along with it. Such early-evening harbingers have accurately predicted national results in the past.

But these first gubernatorial returns from Hartford will be significant as more than indicators of national trends. For the Lodge-Ribicoff contest is itself worthy of interest, if only because it has changed within two weeks from a dull, gentlemanly discussion of issues to a hot fight about questions of race and religion.

The polite manners and voter-apathy that marked the first part of the campaign were due largely to the nature of Governor Lodge's four-year administration. Lodge, who is the brother of chief U.N. delegate Henry Cabot Lodge '23, has run the state in a manner typical of the New England political aristocracy that he represents; he, his charming Italian wife, and their two daughters have participated in a full round of well-publicized social functions, and his quiet, efficient government has made few enemies.

Faced with a lack of issues, Ribicoff decided to base his campaign on his own considerable personal appeal and his record in public service. The record is an unusually good one. The son of Jewish immigrant parents, Ribicoff, after working his way through college and law school, served four years in Congress and compiled a voting record of independent liberalism. In 1952 he ran for the Senate but lost to Eisenhower's coattails and Senator Prescott Bush. His showing was so impressive, however, that John M. Bailey, the state Democratic boss, handpicked him to oppose Lodge in this race.

Ribicoff's campaign has been a model of personalized vote-getting. Starting as early as July 1, he has stumped every one of the state's 169 towns, shaking more than 125,000 hands in the process. And while the Governor stood squarely on his administration's record, Ribicoff emphasized growing unemployment in Connecticut.

Observers agree that this relentless campaign has been very successful: Ribicoff, a heavy underdog at the start, had on October 11 a better-than-even chance of winning according to the New York Times. That was how the campaign stood two weeks ago: neither candidate had mentioned the other by name, neither had descended to a discussion of personalities, and the state's electorate was utterly apathetic about the whole thing.

The situation has changed since October 24, however. On that night Ribicoff, addressing a group of Italian Americans, declared that this election will show whether "the American dream is still alive--that any boy, regardless of race, creed, or color, has the right to aspire to public office. Where else but in the Democratic Party," he continued, "could you find a boy named Abe Ribicoff becoming a candidate for governor?"

That was the start. The Republicans immediately accused Ribicoff and Bailey of "injecting racial and religious issues into the campaign." Bailey replied that Connecticut voters have received anonymous letters meant "to poison their minds" against Ribicoff, and he asked the Republican state chairman to "discourage" the practice. Meanwhile, a former Democratic Congressman announced that he would support Lodge because of the Democratic campaign tactics, and a letter appeared in the Hartford Courant stating: "In the closing days of the political campaign, Mr. Ribicoff has done what many of his fellow Jews hoped and prayed would not happen."

Thus, in a campaign which two weeks ago was "the dullest in years," and expected to bring out a very light vote, politicians are now anticipating the biggest off-year turnout in the state's history. Despite the fact that the Democrats are sure to gain at least one Congressional seat in the state, it now looks as though Lodge should be re-elected.

Neither candidate has yet mentioned the other by name.