Rep. Himes ready to race fellow Connecticut reps for new Twitter followers

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) is ready to issue a new Twitter challenge to his fellow Connecticut representatives.

Himes commented late Monday that Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) has finally succeeded in passing Himes's follower count on Twitter, though just barely, with 8,323 compared to 8,315. 

Ok. So @chrismurphyct just passed my follower #. I could mourn, or I could point out he's a friggin' senator now. So w/5 CT districts....

— Jim Himes (@jahimes) January 15, 2013

Himes and Murphy have gotten competitive over Twitter followers in the past, notably last January, when they engaged in a race for new followers, which concluded with Himes giving to the charity of Murphy's choice. 

But since Murphy won his bid for the Connecticut Senate seat last November, Himes is considering leaving him to "his rarefied and stately senatorial realm" and taking on a couple of other Connecticut representatives instead.

Or, I could just start picking on @elizabeth_esty and @repjoecourtneyand leave @chrismurphyct to his rarefied and stately senatorial realm

— Jim Himes (@jahimes) January 15, 2013

So far, Reps. Elizabeth Esty (D) and Joe Courtney (D) have not responded to Himes's challenge. Esty, a new member of the House, has only about 250 followers on Twitter; Courtney has more than 5,000.

Later in the day, Murphy issued a tongue-in-cheek statement on his Facebook page in response to Himes. 

"At long last, Congressman Himes’ long and oppressive rule atop Connecticut’s Twitter delegation has finally ended," Murphy posted. 

First, I want to thank each and every person or bot who has clicked ‘follow,’ and come along on this journey with me. We’ve proven that, together, we can truly accomplish the impossible: we can best Jim Himes. It’s encouraging to see so many people in Connecticut and across the country are engaged in more than just endless musings about Metro-North trains, obscure literary references, and oysters. 

And second, while some may attribute this achievement to my election to the Senate, it’s important to remember that we’re all working with the same Internet here. People are free to follow whoever they want, and increasingly it seems they are choosing me instead of Jim.

Updated on Jan. 16 at 8:38 a.m.

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