Simmons does not think McMahon can win Conn. Senate race

Former GOP Senate candidate Rob Simmons (Conn.) said Wednesday he does not think his ex-primary opponent Linda McMahon can beat her Democratic opponent.

In an interview with the conservative National Review, the former congressman said McMahon cannot defeat state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the Democratic nominee:

Former Rep. Rob Simmons (R., Conn.) tells National Review Online that he does not think that Linda McMahon can win in the Nutmeg State. “No, I don’t think so at all,” he tells us. And if McMahon asks Simmons for help on the trail, he says he’ll say he is “preoccupied.”

On Tuesday, Simmons suspended his campaign against McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO, who has spent a good deal of her personal wealth on the race.

In his remarks, Simmons was noncommittal about endorsing or campaigning for McMahon.

A Vietnam combat veteran, Simmons thinks he would be a better candidate against Blumenthal, who came under fire for repeatedly misrepresenting his service record during the Vietnam War.

“He blinked when I challenged him and issued an apology,” Simmons told National Review. “It is an issue of character. He has every reason to be proud of the service he has done, so to embellish it to get support from veterans is just wrong.”

But the ex-congressman said McMahon could also face attacks on her character on the trail due to allegations of suspect activity during her tenure running the wrestling circuit.

“While she was there, they had a mentally-handicapped character, Eugene, who they thought was humorous," he said. "I find that whole issue, and how it was handled by [McMahon], severely disappointing," adding that she has "countless entertainment products that she’ll have to defend, especially when Democrats make them known to the public in coming months."

Cross-posted to the Briefing Room