For anyone who thinks the corruption of Democrats in Congress goes unnoticed (Hartford Courant):
A new Quinnipiac University Poll shows U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd facing a tough re-election bid in 2010 if his challenger is former Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Simmmons of Stonington.
If the election were held today, Dodd would garner 42 percent of those surveyed while Simmons would win 43 percent.
Simmons has not said whether he plans to run for the U.S. Senate, but he’s been mentioned by top Republicans as a possible candidate.
h/t David Freddoso @ NRO – The Corner
Not to overhype this, but when incumbent Senators can’t reach the 50% mark, it’s usually bad news. When they’re on the wrong side of a statistical dead heat, they’re usually toast. I’ve only seen three Senators recover from this position: Al D’Amato in New York, Chuck Robb in Virginia (although that was largely due to the fourth candidate in that race – Doug Wilder – dropping out and endorsing him), and Joe Lieberman.
Given that Lieberman is also from the Nutmeg State, no one can rule out a Dodd recovery, but barring the very unforeseen the president will have to use his epic fundraising ability in a place he probably never thought he’d even have to visit in 2010.
Interesting, but I think this is significant:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Simmons
In other words, he’s closer to Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe than Richard Shelby.
But that’s the kind of Republican that can realistically get elected in the Northeast/New England.
[...] I noted in a comment to D.J’s post, though, there’s also a lesson here for Republicans. Simmons is, not surprisingly, a [...]
Good point, Doug. Expect the wingnuts to have a fit over this “RINO” and demand that a “real conservative” run instead!
All any opponent has to do is lay out Dodd’s connections to the Wall Street crooks who got us into this financial hell we’re living in now.