Following bombshell revelations that he claimed he served in Vietnam when he hadn’t, Connecticut Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal’s once-robust lead in the polls has hit record lows.
The Senate hopeful now leads Republican challenger Linda McMahon by a mere three points — a 10-point drop from two weeks ago, according to according to a Rasmussen poll conducted on Tuesday. The latest poll had Blumenthal at 48 percent compared to McMahon, the co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, who had 45 percent of the vote.
It’s the closest McMahon or any other candidate has ever come to Blumenthal in the polls.
Blumenthal — the current Connecticut Attorney General who was widely perceived to be the favorite to replace retiring US Sen. Chris Dodd — also lost ground in his lead over Republican Rob Simmons. He now leads Simmons by 11 points — 50 percent to 39 percent — down from a 23 point lead over the former congressman.
His lead over GOP challenger Peter Schiff, a Wall Street investment banker, 53 percent to 37 percent, compared to two weeks ago, when Blumenthal was at 54 percent to 29 percent.
The survey was taken hours after Blumenthal held a press conference about his claims of serving in Vietnam. He claimed he didn’t mean to lie and that he’d merely misspoken when he said he served “in Vietnam.”
“”On a few occasions, I have misspoken about my service and I regret that. I take full responsibility,” Blumenthal said.