As Rep. Christopher Shays begins to get over the shock of being almost the only Republican in a close race to win, the fate of one of his Connecticut colleagues is still undecided. Rep. Rob Simmons is currently down in his challenge with Democrat Joe Courtney by 167 votes. Twelve term incumbent Republican Rep. Nancy Johnson lost her re-election bid to a newcomer, and while Republican governor Jodi Rell was re-elected, none of the Republican underticket will be joining her. The Connecticut House now has a veto-proof majority. So what happened to Connecticut Republicans?

Rep. Shays was able to win because he isn't really considered a Republican, more of an independent maverick like John McCain. Simmons, typically considered more in-step with his party, now mired in a drawn-out recount process, is being abandoned by the governor. Rell apparently hasn't even contacted Rep. Simmons to offer support or encouragement. Gov. Rell does have a reputation for only being interested in her own political survival, which might be said to be a reflection on the Connecticut Republican party as a whole. If the party had been more cohesive, then "Republican in Connecticut" might have actually stood a chance in this past election. Instead, it was a massacre, with only politicians like Shays, often derided as Republican in Name Only (RINO), winning.