Blumenthal's first ads tout character

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D) went on-air on Tuesday with his first TV ads in the state's Senate race, highlighting his constituent service records.

Blumenthal's campaign released a trio of ads featuring Connecticut residents raving about the work he has done fighting insurers or other work he's done on behalf of constituents since becoming the state's top law enforcement official in 1991.

The three ads -- "Sarah," "Laura & Skyler," and "Gary and Gayle" -- were posted Tuesday to Blumenthal's campaign website.

Democrats said the ads are meant to play up what they say are wide advantages in character measures over Blumenthal's Republican opponent, former WWE executive Linda McMahon, as evidenced in a Quinnipiac University poll last week.

That poll showed Blumenthal maintaining a 56-31 margin over McMahon, even after a report emerged suggesting Blumenthal had, at times, misrepresented his military service record.

The Q-Poll found 53 percent of Connecticut voters were satisfied with Blumenthal's explanation of the matter and that he was found to have more of the requisite experience needed to be the state's next senator.

A spokesman for Republican Senate candidate Linda McMahon said Blumenthal's ads were an attempt to "reshape his image" after the recent controversy over his military service.

"Dick Blumenthal knows he's in trouble and that is why he is spending money to reshape his image," said Ed Patru, a McMahon spokesman. "People don't agree with his claim that lawsuits create jobs, and he has a major credibility problems as a result of his fabricated military record. His numbers have taken a serious hit, by every measure they are moving in the wrong direction, and he's trying to hold on."

Update, 3:43 p.m.: Perhaps reflecting the sense of growing momentum for Blumenthal, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved this race's rating from a "toss-up" to "lean Democratic."

View the three ads below, after the jump: