Connecticut is being called Ground Zero for Republican hopes to keep a majority in the U.S. House. Three of the state's five congressional seats are held by moderate Republicans, all of whom face very tight contests for reelection. As Connecticut goes, so likely will go the House.

Connecticut's Second District, which takes up eastern Connecticut, has been represented by Rob Simmons since 2000. Mr. Simmons is a Vietnam veteran and former CIA operations officer, and once worked for the late Sen. John Chafee.

As a Republican in a Democrat-leaning district, Mr. Simmons has gone against some strong odds. In the last two presidential elections, the 2nd gave Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry sizable leads over Republican George Bush.

Like fellow endangered Connecticut Republicans -- Chris Shays and Nancy Johnson -- Mr. Simmons makes a big point of declaring his independence from the Bush administration and the less-moderate Republicans running Congress. Pro-choice, pro-environment and otherwise fairly liberal on social issues, he calls himself "one of the most independent Republicans." However, his strong support for the war in Iraq has rankled many of his constituents.

For the Democratic candidate, Joe Courtney, this campaign is round two against Mr. Simmons. A lawyer who has served in the Connecticut General Assembly, Mr. Courtney lost the 2002 race with a respectable 46 percent of the vote.

As a state assemblyman, Mr. Courtney made some difficult and statesmanlike decisions for which the Simmons campaign has launched attack ads. In 1991, Mr. Courtney voted for a state income tax at a time when Connecticut was in dire financial straits. The tax was being pushed by Gov. Lowell Weicker, an independent (and former Republican), and had the support of the state's business leaders. There was no other way to deal with a $1 billion deficit, yet the heavy-breathing Simmons ads now accuse Mr. Courtney of being a big taxer.

The package to financially save Connecticut also included a consolidation of government agencies that reduced the number of departments. The Department of Aging was to be merged elsewhere, which explains the Simmons ads accusing Mr. Courtney of not caring for the elderly.

While Mr. Simmons's voting record in Congress is not objectionable, we do not care for campaign ads that misrepresent the reasons opponents had to make hard decisions. That and Mr. Courtney's impressive record of service at the state level make him our preferred candidate to represent Connecticut's Second district.