When Republican congressman Christopher Shays of Connecticut lost his reelection bid in 2008, he left office as the last of the New England House Republicans. The New York Times has a story about Republican Dan Debicella and Democratic incumbent Jim Himes, who replaced Shays in the Fourth Congressional District. RealClearPolitics ranks this race as a “Toss Up”, and the scant polling of the district, which consists of Connecticut’s wealthy New York suburbs, shows Himes slightly ahead and well within the margin of error. Here’s the Times‘ takeaway: