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The 12-term legislator said that the Medicare reform helped foster the decisions in late summer by Wal-Mart and Target to offer low-price generic drugs.
"All of the sudden it is clear how deeply the pharmaceutical industry can be forced to discount their drugs," she said in an interview Sunday after marching in the 75th annual Pulaski Club parade in New Britain.
"The big chains want to be a Medicare provider," Mrs. Johnson added. "They want to have a plan. With their huge profit margins, they can make up in volume what they forego in profit."
State Sen. Chris Murphy, 33, (D-Cheshire), the challenger, said that he "was amazed to hear that she thought that the discounts that Wal-Mart and Target are using was a reason for the federal government not to use the same bulk-purchasing power."
Mrs. Johnson initially made her comments on the drug pricing during a debate between the two candidates last Saturday at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.
Mr. Murphy has been critical of the Medicare reform package since early in the campaign, saying that it lacked a bulk-purchasing component and didn't include provisions for the re-importation of prescription drugs from Canada. The challenger also has said the program is confusing and has largely benefited the pharmaceutical companies.
"Mrs. Johnson needs to brush up on economics if she thinks that we can continue to not allow the federal government to do bulk purchasing," he said last Sunday before touring a street fair in downtown Torrington.
"The Medicare prescription drug plan didn't inspire Wal-Mart and Target to lower their prices," Mr. Murphy said. "Competition that has always existed has required them to lower their prices."
The challenger said that prescription drug prices increased "well beyond" the rate of inflation during the first quarter of this year. The prescription drug benefit took effect Jan. 1.
"I'm retiring soon, and I'm concerned about this prescription drug package," resident Kathy Golymbieski of Torrington said in an interview. "I think at this point Nancy Johnson has been in Congress so long that she's worn out her welcome."
Although no independent polls have been released to date, the congressional race is considered to be one of the most competitive in the country.
The Washington Post has reported that Republican strategists estimate that the party will lose 12 to 30 seats in Congress.
Washington Post.com columnist Chris Cillizza has ranked it since Sept. 1 on his list of the 25 districts in the country most likely to change parties. However, over the last six weeks it has dropped from 15th to 21st, apparently a result of Mrs. Johnson's efforts to portray Mr. Murphy as a tax-and-spend liberal in television commercials.
The district has 41 municipalities, including most of Litchfield County and most of the greater Danbury area.
Since the district underwent extensive reapportionment before the 2002 election, Mrs. Johnson defeated then U.S. Rep. James Maloney (D-Danbury) by a surprisingly large margin of 23,000 votes and then easily bested former state representative Teresa Gerratana (D-New Britain) with 60 percent of the ballots two years later, in 2004.
However, this year the congresswoman, who was first elected in 1982 and has served longer in the U.S. House than any member from Connecticut, has had to overcome discontent regarding Mr. Bush's policies in Iraq and concerns over scandals connected to some of the most powerful Republicans in Congress.
"The war in Iraq is the dominant issue," Lucian Pawlak, who was the Democratic mayor of New Britain from 1995 to 2003, said before Sunday's parade.
"Chris Murphy is probably as good a candidate that has run against her," he said. "Mrs. Johnson is a long-term incumbent, but he has timing on his side. You've got an unpopular war going on. I think the race is a toss-up."
Mrs. Johnson's campaign manager, Dave Boomer, has said that her campaign is about what she has delivered for the district.
Mr. Pawlak said that during his eight years as New Britain's top elected official he was impressed with Mrs. Johnson's efforts.
"As far as delivering for the district, I wholeheartedly endorse that statement," he said.
Roxbury Republican First Selectman Barbara Henry, who is working on the congresswoman's campaign, said that Mrs. Johnson has secured federal funds for road maintenance in her town over the recent years.
"I'm hearing both sides locally," she said regarding Mrs. Johnson's record of constituent service and concerns by voters over the need to withdraw military operations soon from Iraq.
"There is an overriding concern about Iraq," she said. "I'm telling people that no one works harder than Nancy and you can't throw the baby out with the bath water."
"It's up to Nancy's campaign to make voters remember what she has done for this district because she has had an ongoing dialogue with all the towns," said former state representative Brian Flaherty (R-Watertown), a co-chairman for the congresswoman's campaign.
"I'm hearing a lot of concern from my constituents about the national issues," Mrs. Johnson said regarding the campaign. "I hear from them about the need to get out of the war.
"But my position isn't any different than that of most people," she said. "We need to put more of responsibility on the Iraqis. But I'm not for cut and run, and my constituents aren't for that."
Mrs. Johnson added, "I also see a lot of appreciation for the work that I do for the communities. The people understand my experience, knowledge and energy."
However, the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll indicated poor ratings nationally for both Mr. Bush and the Republican majority in Congress.
"What is driving public opinion is an overall impression that those in office-meaning mainly Republicans-have let things slide out of control and need to be relieved," Washington Post political columnist David Broder wrote last week.
"There's still that tension that's been there for a number of years," Mrs. Johnson said of the differences between the moderate Republicans in the Northeast and the more conservative Republicans from other parts of the country.
"However, my constituents do see me as different and constructive and centrist and for bipartisanship," she said, making reference to national rankings that indicate that she is one of the most independent Republicans in Congress.
"Some of these Republicans come back to their districts and say that they're moderate," U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Cal.), a native of New Britain, said after last weekend's debate. "Nancy Johnson hasn't stood up to her leadership, and she voted for a tax cut that benefits the wealthiest 2 percent. I represent one of the wealthiest districts in the country and my constituents said they didn't need that tax cut."
"When the Republicans were in the minority during her first 12 years in Congress, Nancy was a very progressive member," said State Rep. Robert Godfrey (D-Danbury), who has known Mrs. Johnson since she entered the state Senate in 1977. "But after they took the majority in 1994, she has been more supportive of the conservative leaders of her party."
Regarding the race, Mr. Boomer has said that to win, a Democratic candidate would have to carry the five cities-Waterbury, New Britain, Danbury, Meriden and Torrington-by a combined 15,000 votes, which is an unlikely feat for Mr. Murphy.
However, Mr. Murphy said he would fare better than previous Democratic candidates in the Litchfield County and the Farmington Valley towns.
"There are a lot of people there that have voted Republican for a long time that cannot excuse the Republican Party for its ethical lapses," he said in an apparent reference to the scandal associated with former House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-Texas) and recent concerns over the conduct of former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.)
On another issue, both candidates said that they supported the decision last week by United Nations (U.N.) Security Council to impose economic sanctions on North Korea following its nuclear test earlier this month.
"I'm glad our nation is working with nations in Asia to do more," Mrs. Johnson said. "Frankly, China has the leverage in all of this. It has the most power to influence the decisions of North Korea."
Mr. Murphy said that he is "glad" that the United Nations is moving forward.
"However, we've got to get China to put the ultimate pressure to bear on North Korea," he added.
On another topic, The New York Times reported last week that "China is planning to adopt a new law" that would provide labor unions "real power for the first time since it introduced market forces in the 1980's."
"I'm glad to see it," said Mrs. Johnson, who is a senior member of the House Ways & Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over trade issues. "It's about time."
"It's hard for us to compete with as low wages as China offers," she said of the proposed law, which could be in effect as early as next May.
She said that during a congressional trip she took to China last March the Chinese Prime Minister said that his "biggest worry is the disparity between the rich and poor" in a nation of 1.5 billion people with the fastest-growing economy in the world.
Mrs. Johnson said that the new labor laws would increase wages, improve working conditions and establish safety standards similar to those imposed in the United States by the Occupational Health & Safety Administration.
"First, that's good for the people of China, and it will do a lot to level the playing field," she said, making reference to the huge trade deficit that the United States has had with the Asian nation in recent years.
Mr. Murphy declined comment on the proposed laws at this time.
