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Democrats had high hopes to take back the top office in Connecticut this year. President Clinton ran 18 points ahead of Bob Dole in the state in the 1996 election, and Democrats thought incumbent Republican Governor John Rowland was vulnerable.
However Democratic challenger Barbara Kennelly's campaign never got off the ground, and she is badly trailing Rowland heading into the election.

When he was elected in 1994, Rowland won with only 36% of the vote and a 3-point margin. However as governor, he has overseen state budget surpluses and tax cuts and enacted welfare reform. Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly, a longtime fixture in Connecticut politics and an effective representative in Congress, had a troubled camaign from the start.

Kennelly's Hartford district is heavily Democratic, and she had not been forced to stump for votes in years. She has not been able to compete with the younger, charismatic Rowland and has earned comparisons to Bob Dole as a campaigner. Kennelly and Rowland served together in Congress and the tone of the campaign has been largely cordial.

Kennelly's message emphasizing health care, families and children has fallen on deaf ears in a state of complacent voters.
Despite Kennelly's fundraising help from both Hillary and President Clinton, Rowland has a 6-to-1 cash-on-hand advantage and an insurmountable lead going into election day.

Confident of victory, Rowland has even said that he would make room for Kennelly in his administration. She didn't immediately say no.