Richard Blumenthal went from Senate shoe-in to political punch line after the New York Times reported on his past misstatements of his Vietnam-era service. But in the span of the week, his campaign now argues that he has successfully navigated through the immediate crisis to the point where Democrats can feel confident again that the party will hold his seat come November.
To bolster that argument, the Connecticut attorney general's campaign released results of an internal poll showing that he maintained a substantial advantage over one of his potential general election foes, WWE executive Linda McMahon. The Greenberg Quinlan Rosner survey, conducted May 19-20, found Blumenthal leading 55-40. A Rasmussen poll released last week found the same matchup much tighter.
One poll had Linda McMahon within three points. This has definitely hurt Blumenthal and it's not going away. This is difficult to explain and admitting a lie would end his career. Blumenthal will deal with this for the rest of the campaign and at this point, he'd have to be considered an underdog in the race.
It's worth noting that FNS anchor Neil Cavuto is among Blumenthal's chief defenders.
Just remember that the next time someone says that FNS is in the pocket of the Republicans.
I don't understand what makes you think McMahon is the favorite. Blumenthal is at the peak of his scandal (a scandal the AP claims the NYT is misrepresenting) and McMahon couldn't even take the lead in a Rasmussen Poll. And considering Rasmussen's most recent polls are even more over the top in projecting the Republicans with commanding leads than usual (Boozman +30 in Arkansas, Hoeven +50 in North Dakota) you really have to wonder if McMahon has reached the limits of her electability. Especially considering she's poised to win the nomination from Simmons, whose much better positioned to use Blumenthal's service record to his advantage since he actually saw combat in Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you ever agree with anything that makes it look good for Reps so this is not new.
ReplyDeleteHe maybe at the peak of the scandal but it isn't going away. This takes him off message and this defines him. It's only been a week and all he's talked about is this scandal.
It looks really bad to misrepresent your military service and that's what is happening here.
If you think that explaining this for the next six months is a path to victory, that's your problem.