Greenwich Republican May Run to Succeed Lieberman

Guessing who will run for Sen. Joe Lieberman’s seat is the new parlor game in politics.

One name that’s popped up is state Sen. L. Scott Frantz, a Republican who represents Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan in the 36th Senate District. There’s now a "Draft Frantz for U.S. Senate" committee asking for 1,000 signatures to “Help us collect 1,000 signatures to convince Scott Frantz to run for US Senate.”

Despite  the attention, Frantz is noncommittal.

“Given the dynamics any public office holder shouldn’t rule out running for higher office, or any office for that matter,” Frantz told Patch, declining to say whether he’s discussed idea with his family . “I think it’s so early, that anyone running has plenty of time to think about it.”

And while Frantz hasn’t yet formed an exploratory committee, this "Draft Frantz" website seems to be exploring the option for him.

Elected to the state Senate in 2008, the Greenwich businessman could be a match against former Senatorial candidate and fellow Greenwich resident , who lost to another Greenwich resident, former state Attorney General last November.

Frantz is assistant minority leader of the Senate Republican Caucus, and a ranking member of the General Assembly’s Banks and Commerce Committee. He also sits on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding, and Transportation committees.

“Whenever there’s a realignment from office there’s a whole lot of shuffling around,” Frantz said. “You need to see what the potential landscape looks like and take it from there.”

Still, as a state senator Frantz likely lacks the name recognition and resources needed to win a national race, according to Prof. Gary Rose Chairman of the Department of Government and Politics at in Fairfield.

“He’s still not high profile enough to run,” Rose told Patch. “I’m not certain Frantz has the capacity to generate enough excitement. Although I won’t rule anybody out.”

And that’s why some town party chairman are refraining from playing the guessing game.

“One of the things I’ve learned is that until someone formally announces, you never know who is going to run,” said Al Alper, chair of Wilton's Republican Town Committee. Alper ran Rob Merkle’s Congressional campaign for the Fourth District.

It remains to be seen who from the Democrats will run, aside from U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, a Democrat representing Connecticut's 5th Congressional District, and former Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz.

Despite the Bridgeport ballot debacle, Bysiewicz remains a viable candidate, Rose said.

Some are already salivating at the idea of a Bysiewicz- McMahon race.

“Wouldn’t that be something?” Rose said. “They both know how to run a hard campaign, they’re both aggressive, and they don’t mind getting in the trenches.”