It's Richard Blumenthal vs. Linda McMahon as Rob Simmons Bows Out in Conn.

2 years ago

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Senior Correspondent

The Connecticut Senate race to replace the reluctantly retiring Chris Dodd has so far been a mixture of shock (Democratic nominee Richard Blumenthal falsely claiming to have served in Vietnam) and awe (Republican wrestling mogul Linda McMahon's determination to spend $50 million to win the seat).

Former GOP Congressman Rob Simmons, who had originally hoped to run against the scandal-tinged Dodd, bowed to the inevitability of McMahon's money Tuesday morning when he suspended his bid to win the Aug. 10 primary. "We probably could have stuck it out for a few more months," Simmons said in a radio interview. "But what would that have gotten us?"

The Simmons campaign had been running on fumes since Friday night when the candidate failed to win the endorsement of the state Republican convention in Hartford after a wave of first-ballot switches to McMahon. But Simmons will technically remain a candidate in the primary for campaign-finance reasons and (although he denies this) in case some scandal emerges from McMahon's steroids-scarred tenure as the chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment.

A former CIA agent who also won two bronze stars in Vietnam, Simmons boasted the perfect resume to confront Blumenthal, who served stateside in a Marine Corps Reserve unit during Vietnam. "That may be true in theory," said Hartford Courant columnist and blogger Kevin Rennie, a former Republican state senator. "But Simmons didn't have the resources to do it. And the Vietnam issue can be cast as who doesn't tell the truth."

The Blumenthal campaign, which circulated a new poll showing the longtime Connecticut attorney general holding a 15-point lead, has privately admitted the difficulty of competing against the self-funded McMahon. And Blumenthal himself, accepting his party's nomination by acclamation Friday night, defiantly told the Democratic convention, "I may be outspent, but I won't be outworked." But, for the moment, Blumenthal is belatedly apologizing for having "misspoken about my service record."

Tagged: 2010 Senate Elections, 2010 Senate Races, chris dodd, ChrisDodd, connecticut senate races, dailyguidance, linda mcmahon, LindaMcmahon, richard blumenthal, RichardBlumenthal, Rob Simmons, RobSimmons

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