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HARTFORD - The last time a non-Democrat held the office of attorney general in Connecticut was 1959. The current Democratic occupant, George Jepsen, was all of five years old back then.

In this election, Jepsen is being challenged by opponents who occupy opposite ends of the political spectrum and have very different approaches to the campaign.

Republican Kie Westby is a conservative lawyer from Thomaston who believes Connecticut must drop its "anti-business attitude" that he claims has driven companies out of the state and hurt job growth. He's also an NRA member opposed to new state gun controls passed after the Sandy Hook killings, and a harsh critic of "Common Core" educational standards.

Green Party candidate Stephen Fournier is proudly "to the left of the other two" in the race. He considers the federal government an "enemy of the state of Connecticut," and wants to investigate its role in the 9/11 disaster. Fournier thinks many voters out there are as angry as he is with big government and big business.

Jepsen's challengers are leaving the incumbent a lot of room in the political middle. Like his predecessors in the attorney general's office, Jepsen casts himself as a champion of consumers and a defender of personal privacy.

Tried-and-true formula

It's a tried-and-true formula, and a recent opinion survey by Public Policy Polling indicates it may well be working again: the poll gave Jepsen a 15-point edge over Westby and a 36-point advantage over Fournier.

Both Jepsen and Westby are planning on using the state's public campaign finance system, which would give each more than $812,000 in taxpayer money to spend on this election. Fournier isn't seeking any public election funding, and expects to spend less than $1,000 on his third-party candidacy.

Jepsen last week put up his first TV campaign ad of the race. Westby, who only recently made his formal application for public financing, is hoping for a quick approval so he can respond with his own TV commercials.

In 2010, Jepsen won his first attorney general contest with 53.7 percent of the vote. Republican Martha Dean another GOP conservative pulled 43.6 percent, while Fournier got 2.9 percent of the ballots cast.

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Attorney General Facing A Conservative And Radical Liberal In General Election

Immense Lie About ISIS Spreads Fear, Confusion The Republican Message
"Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) claimed Tuesday that "at least" 10 Islamic State fighters were apprehended while attempting to enter the U.S. at its southern border. The San Diego Republican...

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Immense Lie About ISIS Spreads Fear, Confusion & The Republican Message - Video

As California's Republican Party contemplates its way out of the political wilderness, most of the public debate has focused on questions of ideology: Can social conservatives stomach moderation on issues such as abortion or gay marriage in exchange for election victories?

That's a serious question with lasting implications for the party's identity, but there's another discussion underway as well: Is the GOP's best strategy to pursue change from the top down securing a statewide office or two to reestablish a beachhead in Sacramento or from the ground up, doing the painstaking work of electing Republicans to local offices in the hopes that those politicians can amass the experience and credibility to someday recapture offices once held by the likes of Ronald Reagan, Earl Warren and Richard Nixon?

Both approaches are in play during this election cycle. Pressing for change from the top, businessman Neel Kashkari is challenging one of the lions of California politics, Gov. Jerry Brown, the longest-serving governor in the state's history and the only one to hold the office in two separate stretches (and in two different centuries). Kashkari had to fight his way past a far more conservative opponent, and he argues that this election marks an opportunity for the party to ditch some of the habits that have alienated so many California voters. He's pro-choice, supports same-sex marriage and has doubts about the war on drugs and the harsh sentences it has imposed, particularly on minority offenders.

Despite those unconventional positions for a Republican, a recent Field poll showed that 71% of conservatives supported Kashkari, at least against Brown. "We're a case study for this approach," the candidate told me last week as he hustled between campaign stops.

But if Kashkari's quest to move his party depends on his winning in November, it's probably doomed. The same poll that showed him performing well with conservatives had him trailing Brown by more than 20 points among those who consider themselves "middle of the road." And among liberals, the poll had him losing by a laughable 91% to 1%.

If Kashkari wins, he'll be in a position to argue that he's charted a new way. If he loses, however, that's a harder sell. Meanwhile, Ashley Swearengin, the Fresno mayor who's running for controller, could be a breakout candidate for the party, as could Pete Peterson in the campaign for secretary of state. But they too are trailing in the polls and facing the formidable head wind of the Democrats' registration advantage.

Parke Skelton, the consultant for Democrat Betty Yee in the controller's race, points out that the partisan breakdown of June primary voters in that contest was 43% Democratic to 32% Republican. In the general election, it's likely to notch up a few points in Democrats' favor, meaning that roughly 45% of the electorate will be Democratic, compared with just 32% Republican.

Aaron McLear, senior advisor to the Kashkari campaign, pointed out to me last week that, for a Republican to win statewide, he or she needs to carry 95% of Republican voters, two-thirds of independents and about one-third of Democrats. That is, as he said, "tough, really tough."

So, if a breakthrough is possible but very difficult, what about the more patient work of local campaigns? Ruben Barrales is president of a group called Grow Elect, which is trying to do just that. The organization has been working since 2011 to promote the candidacies of Latino Republicans for city councils, county boards of supervisors and special districts. In that time, the group says it has helped elect 60 candidates.

Barrales agrees that it's important for Republicans to set a more welcoming tone on social issues especially immigration and credits Kashkari with helping to lead the way. But he also recognizes the difficulties confronting any Republican candidate for a statewide office, and he says long-term success can come only through grass-roots organizing and winning races further down the ticket.

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Can the California GOP craft a winning campaign strategy?

Republican Joni Ernst (left) is facing off against Democrat Bruce Braley (right) for the U.S. Senate race in Iowa, where early voting is a key part of both parties' strategy.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- Forget about pushing voters to the polls in the final 72 hours. Republican war rooms are now just as focused on turning voters into votes weeks before Election Day.

In their multi-front battle to win back the Senate and hold on to governor mansions, Republican operatives don't want their supporters to wait until Nov. 4, and they're investing real money, technology and manpower to try to match Democrats, on a playing field the left has dominated in recent contests.

Many credit an early voting advantage by Democrats for playing a key role in the 2012 presidential elections. The practice has upended the traditional electoral calendar and Republicans have revamped their approach, at a time when 33 states and the District of Columbia now offer some form of early voting.

In key battleground states like Georgia, where early voting begins Monday, Republican operations are pouring more resources than ever into get-out-the-vote efforts ahead of Election Day.

In Iowa, where residents have been voting for the last two weeks, Republicans are already starting to close the gap with Democrats after investing more than $1 million to mobilize early voters. That's a stark contrast to past election cycles when Republicans "focused barely any resources on it," Iowa Republican Party spokesman Jeff Patch said.

"This midterm election cycle in particular has been the most early vote centered than any other election in previous history," Patch said. "I think we're going to make a huge dent."

In just the last week, Republicans have requested absentee ballots at a faster rate than Democrats -- more than doubling their count compared to just a 40% increase for Democrats in the last 10 days, according to numbers provided by the Iowa Secretary of State's office. Registered Republicans have also mailed in their early ballots at a faster pace than Democrats.

And while both parties have gotten their voters to submit more ballots than in 2010 so far, early Republican votes have more than doubled from 2010 while Democrats have only posted a 36% bump.

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GOP fights for 2014 early vote

Democrat Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor of Florida (left), and Rick Scott, the current Republican governor of Florida, listen to the moderators during a gubernatorial debate on Friday. The two are facing off in a tight race that's fueling a barrage of negative campaign ads. Lynne Sladky/AP hide caption

Democrat Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor of Florida (left), and Rick Scott, the current Republican governor of Florida, listen to the moderators during a gubernatorial debate on Friday. The two are facing off in a tight race that's fueling a barrage of negative campaign ads.

Florida is home to the most expensive race in the country this midterm election one of the nation's closest and nastiest gubernatorial contests.

incumbent Republican governor Rick Scott is facing former Florida governor Charlie Crist, a Democrat. Both candidates are well-known, both are prolific fundraisers and outside groups are pouring millions of dollars into the race. It's all combined to make it one of the nation's closest and nastiest gubernatorial races.

On paper, Scott has a lot going for him. He's an incumbent, with nearly unlimited money, in a state that's finally in economic recovery. But after four years of chronically low approval ratings, his bid for re-election is turning out to be anything but easy.

Florida is a state almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans control the legislature and all the top state offices, but in the last two Presidential elections, Barack Obama mobilized Democrats and carried the state.

And Crist, the Democratic candidate for governor, is hoping to replicate that in this election.

At a campaign stop in a Miami suburb recently, Crist met with Marcela Parra, a college student upset about recent cuts in Florida's "Bright Futures" scholarship program.

"Four years ago, you would have qualified for a Bright Futures scholarship, back when I was governor, essentially," he says, as she agrees. "Now with Rick Scott and a change in policy, you don't qualify anymore."

Charlie Crist is the challenger in the race, but to Floridians, he's a familiar face. He was a Republican when he served as governor. But a lot has changed since then. He ran unsuccessfully for the Senate, first as a Republican, and then as an independent. Now, Crist is a Democrat, running for a seat he left behind just four years ago.

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Florida Governor's Race: Familiar Faces, Big Money, Brutal Ads