Caliguiri considers switch to challenge Rep. Chris Murphy

The Connecticut Republican Party chairman is publicly urging Senate candidate Sam Caligiuri to switch races and run against Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).

Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy's statement, which was just released, makes public what many have suggested privately since the state senator, Caligiuri, entered the race. Caligiuri is seen as a rising star, but he has been drowned out of the Senate race by four well-funded opponents. In the meantime, he was a rare bright spot for the GOP in 2006, when he took Murphy's state Senate seat from the Democrats.

Republican Afghanistan veteran Justin Bernier has raised about $200,000 for the race and was recently added to the National Republican Congressional Committee's (NRCC) Young Guns program.

Caligiuiri has raised about $320,000 for the Senate race and could use all of it for a House run, but he would start with about $30,000 less in cash on hand than Bernier.

Here is Healy's statement:

Over the last few weeks, State Senator Sam Caligiuri and I have discussed his candidacy for statewide office. After much thought and discussion with other leaders and activists, I have urged him to focus his energies on the Fifth Congressional district where I believe he would be a top candidate.
 
This is a sentiment shared by many Republican activists in the district. And while it is in no way meant to diminish the efforts of other Republican candidates, Sen. Caligiuri has established himself as a proven reformer and principled legislator.
 
Senator Caligiuri's potential entry into the fifth congressional district race spells trouble for Democrat Chris Murphy and shows Republicans are ready to provide new leadership in the Congress.

UPDATE 3:30 p.m.: Caligiuri sounds like he will think about it.

His statement: “I want to thank Chairman Healy for his kind words and encouragement of my potential candidacy in the Fifth Congressional District. Over the last several days I have been exploring this option with Chairman Healy and other leaders in the party who have reached out to me in support of this move. My goal has always been to best serve the people of Connecticut by reviving our economy, reforming government, and restoring fiscal responsibility. Over the coming days, I will make a decision on how I can best continue to fight for those principles and serve the people of Connecticut.”

UPDATE 3:35 p.m.: Bernier is crying foul: “The situation in New York’s 23rd congressional district showed us what happens when party insiders play favorites. I am confident that the Republicans in the Fifth District of Connecticut will make the right decision in this nomination process.

"Over the past seven months I have travelled western Connecticut and I am honored by the support and many endorsements we have received.  My only goal remains to represent the people of the Fifth Congressional District in Congress, and I am 100 percent committed to seeking my party’s nomination for this responsibility.”