Murphy Plans “Visibility” Event at Jefferson Jackson Bailey Dinner. Bysiewicz and Tong Will Need to Show Some Game.

Head to the Arch Street Tavern on Friday at 4 p.m. for a Chris Murphy event featuring food and alcohol before the start of the state Democratic party’s annual Jefferson Jackson Bailey dinner at the Connecticut Convention Center. The Murphy campaign has put out the call for thirsty supporters to meet at the Hartford watering hole. Murphy supporters (or anyone who appreciates free drinks) will wander to the convention center to show some spirit for what a Murphy staffer calls “some old fashioned campaign visibility” as the faithful make their way to the event that features Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley.

These are the sorts of events that make an impression on party activists as they gather less than two months before the state nominating convention that will endorse a candidate for the United States Senate. They understand crowds. They like to see candidates attracting crowds. It reassures them as they steel themselves to face Linda McMahon’s fortune. No one in this year’s Democratic race is going to be able to donate millions to his campaign in the crunch like Sergeant Blumenthal did  in 2010.

A crowded, boisterous show of enthusiasm can cover many campaign defects and boost the spirits of worried supporters. Murphy rivals Susan Bysiewicz and William Tong will want to match the Cheshire Democrat’s lubricated supporter for lubricated supporter at the hot, sunny Friday afternoon showdown.