As we slide toward the dog days of summer, I've been nursing a little project, something to keep politics simmering, as we wait for the start of the fall election season.

I started it last month, when former U.S. Rep. Chris Shays, one of the last Republicans Connecticut sent to Washington, said that he could not bring himself to vote for Donald Trump.

Shays went public soon after the presumptive GOP presidential nominee was being labeled racist by many prominent national Republicans, for questioning the Mexican heritage of the judge overseeing civil lawsuits by people claiming they were cheated by Trump's bogus real estate university.

So Shays is the first name on my new Trump Honor Roll for Connecticut Republicans, folks who value ethics over party loyalty, just saying no to Trump.

I thought it would be interesting to find out where other Republicans here in blue Connecticut stand on the Trump campaign, which clearly horrifies many in the traditional buttoned-down corners of the party.

I might have put the Mashantucket Pequots on the list for calling out Trump this week for his bigotry, responding to new news stories about when, during a Congressional hearing in 1993, the casino mogul, whining about the Pequots' success, said they don't look like Indians to him.

But since I'm not sure how many Pequots are Republicans, I can't put them on the list.

One of the first Connecticut Republicans I put to the Trump test was Nicholas Mullane, the former first selectman of North Stonington who is challenging state Rep. Diana Urban for her 43rd District House seat.

Mullane gets penciled in, with a crafty answer in which he said he would like Republicans to find a new candidate at a brokered convention.

He gets to stay on the list, I suppose, at least until Trump officially wins the nomination at the Ohio convention.

I might also pencil in Stonington First Selectman Rob Simmons, the Republican who once held the Congressional seat for this largely Democratic district.

A winning Republican in blue Connecticut, Simmons knows well how to bob, weave or hedge, which is what he did with my Trump question.

Because he is working to sustain a bipartisan consensus among Stonington selectmen, he said, he is not going to endorse in the presidential race.

He is also not planning to attend the GOP convention.

I did come upon some full-throated Trump endorsements.

One of these came from state House Republican Leader Themis Klarides, who responded to my question with a statement.

"I will support Donald Trump as our candidate," she said. "While I have at times criticized him for certain stances he has taken, his straightforward approach to solving problems ... is appealing."

J.R. Romano, the party chairman, assured me Trump is within striking distance of carrying Connecticut.

"In a blue state like this, Hillary Clinton is struggling," he said.

Romano, as did a few other Republicans, asked me why, in fairness, I don't do the same thing for Democrats.

It's a fair point, but I don't know of a single prominent Connecticut Democrat who has refused to endorse Hillary Clinton. If there are some, then, yes, a Clinton Honor Roll for Democrats is in order.

Another prominent Republican won a slot on the Trump Honor Roll, for now at least.

"I have not endorsed Trump, nor do I see myself endorsing him at this time," Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano said in a statement. "However, I do respect the democratic process and the fact that the people of our country chose him ... I will take that, along with many other issues, into consideration come November."

Sen. Paul Formica of East Lyme also hedged a bit when I caught up with him by phone. We ended up agreeing that he would like more time to answer the question. He laughed.

Other Republican legislators and candidates around the region were more cowardly, not returning specific phone messages I left with the Trump question.

These include Rep. Aundre Bumgardner, Rep. John Scott and Senate candidate Heather Somers, all of Groton.

In any case, the summer is still young. The Honor Roll is evolving, with candidate Trump lurching from one controversy to another.

Anyone who wants to be included, just holler.

This is the opinion of David Collins.

d.collins@theday.com