I received a mailing from the McMahon campaign at my home that seeks to register any and all possible Republicans in time for the primary. This is not only a surprisingly nice little bit of party-building — unusual for a politician who is not even in office — but also shows she is sincere in her promise to run in the primary if she doesn’t win at the Convention. It specifically asks recipients to register “in order to qualify to vote in the primary later in the year.
As for Simmons, his campaign has said he will not “force a primary” if he does not win at Convention. Thus, the Convention may be all or nothing for him. (If he gets a certain level of delegates, a primary would be automatic, not forced, but they have not clarified if Simmons will continue to the primary if he does not win at Convention.) That being the case, McMahon’s people have now ratcheted up the rhetoric to such an extent it appears they are seeking not only to win, but to drive Simmons out of the race. We may not get to witness it here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is not some change of course for the Simmons campaign soon. If there isn’t, he faces a difficult endgame indeed, as he would have to either win it all or instead change his plans for a primary, and then mount a primary campaign against an opponent who can buy ads all day and all night on every medium. As of now, the McMahon momentum is palpable and growing. He must either stem it somehow or perhaps contemplate a new direction.
10 responses so far ↓
I thought Simmon’s attack on Blumenthal was a change in strategy.
Up until then Simmons seemed content to take his front runner status to the convention and leave Blumie alone. A mistake IMHO.
It may have been a change in strategy, though it still assumes frontrunner status. That seems endangered by all the most recent polling, and it seems to me his team needs to address both McMahon’s rising poll numbers and the constant barrage of criticism coming from her camp. Leaving attacks unanswered is always politically dangerous.
That’s why I say he needs to have some kind of course change here, and perhaps you’re right in that going after Blumie is not the best tack at this point in the campaign.
Simmons is in a tight spot. Fundraising now seems to be a real problem.
Politico: Simmons’ 4Q fundraising drops off
This is going to be an expensive race. When the campaign tried to spin it as similar to Kelly Ayotte in N.H. they forgot to mention that Connecticut is not New Hampshire.
Agreed, Bill. I can’t see how he wins it if it gets to a primary, simply in monetary terms. As a candidate, I think Simmons is very strong in terms of his bio. But a prolonged air war with thousands of ads will be extremely punishing to his campaign.
There’s a good article in today’s Times on Illinois and the crush for candidates to label themselves outsiders….
I suppose Simmons could try that angle but…..
Vincent, Simmons can win a GOP primary b/c he’s a life-long Republican, and has paid his dues with years of public service.
Are you completely un-aware of the scores of “self-funders” who litter the political landscape after having crashed and burned? Not everyone is for sale, (or that dumb.)
To date all I have seen from McMahon is that she is not Chris Dodd and that she is willing to spend LOTS of money. I think most of the Republican faithful at the convention know that Simmons will be the best shot at the seat. Bluementhal and the D’s willl be able to shape and focus a campagin against Linda as a weak candidate, with questionable expierience and there is always the 800lb wrestler in the corner. Linda’s contributions to Rahm and the DCCC will cause problems for her as she looks to line up Republican support. It is a flashy campaign though with lots of people making lots of money.
Scoop, I know about self-funders — I usually can’t stand them, and disliked Bloomberg so much I refused to work for him. (My bad, I blew a big bonus there!)
Both candidates have negatives, obviously. A big-spender who gives to both parties is a negative, but this year, being a Washington insider is a negative, too. Blumie will not be able to shape McMahon, tho, NeoConn, because she can get right back on the air and answer. I worry because I don’t think Simmons can match his money next fall.
I think Blumie would rather face him, too, because it would be insider vs. outsider, not outsider vs. outsider (in the sense of outside of the DC Beltway). But that’s not the issue, any way. The issue is will Simmons begin to respond to the McMahon onslaught or just sit back, take it and try to tough it out ’til Convention. If the latter, I think his numbers will continue to erode.
Simmons has hit hard on McMahon’s voting record, we know that. I just am not sure that is really resonant in today’s environment. Why? One could just say, “A lot of politicians are lousy, so sometimes I choose not to vote,” and many voters will be able to relate. I don’t think that is the right issue to try to beat her back with.
I can’t believe that for my final post on CT Local Politics I am going to agrees with Scoop and disagree with Vincent. McMahon is a black eye on politics and on the state of Connecticut. This is a woman that created the following characters for marketing to the children of this country (and world):
-A pimp, complete with “ho” train and who used to encourage you to “Roll a fatty for this pimp daddy” which for our pop culture illiterate is a reference to smoking weed (marijuana). Check it out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhbywUc0ozM
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As well as this character, notice his cuisine.
http://www.fanboyplanet.com/chair/images/slick.gif
How do you feel about that Donk?
Don’t play that “it’s for prime time” card. Slick was on Saturday mornings when I was a kid and both these guys have their own action figures. Breeding a generation of stereotypes, way to go Linda.
Bottom line is that she is unfit to to head this ticket and is involved not because she cares about the state or the nation but the legacy of herself and her family’s. I would much rather have Dick Blumenthal or Rob Simmons represent me in Washington. This “Neo-Con” thing is way overated. I have heard Scott Brown referred to as an “outsider”, he was a State Senator! That is like someone referring to Sam Caliguiri as an “outsider”. The tag is overrated and overused as a sound bite and talking point. You can’t have total outsiders running around with no regard for rules of order and decorum. Look at the disaster Al Franken has been.
In my opinion Linda should just burn her money, that’s as much use as it will have to her. This Republican will be supporting anyone but…
Blumenthal or Simmons for me, no McMahon and DEFINITELY no Schiff. At least Linda is nice to her when you shake her hand.
To close, my take on the Gov race. I like Tom Foley, don’t think Fedele is sticking right now and is clearly playing with the stink of the Rell Administration vs. The Useless Super Majority feud on him. He is also not very charismatic. Lamont scares me because of how liberal he can be. I see him spending my tax dollars on every useless social program the Dems can dream up and personally think the man that would make the best Gov in the field right now is Dan Malloy.
nm, I’ll miss you, let’s meet on the other blog soon.
I disagree re: Fedele. I found him charming and witty, face to face. I think he’ll grow on people.
Malloy? Ouch. He’s better then LaMont, but that isn’t saying much.
And I was not putting Simmons down. Just recommending a course change before he hits the financial iceberg. See you at Connecticut Political Reporter blog!
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