Linda McMahon

Republican Linda McMahon and Democrat Dick Blumenthal sounded a common theme during the Connecticut Senate race's first debate Monday night: My opponent has serious character flaws, and I'm not like those Democrats in Washington.

1. Does Linda McMahon Stand a Chance in Connecticut?  Rasmussen and Quinnipiac both find the Republican nominee for Senate in Connecticut, Linda McMahon, well within striking distance of Democrat Richard Blumenthal.  Can she pull this off, or is this a dead cat bounce?

A Quinnipiac poll out yesterday shows GOP Senate hopeful Linda McMahon of Connecticut gaining some momentum against Democrat Dick Blumenthal, the state's attorney general. According to the poll, Blumenthal leads McMahon 50 percent to 40 percent, a seven point gain for the Republican, who trailed by 17 points in Quinnipiac's poll two weeks ago.

Via Political Wire, Republican Rob Simmons, who had "released" his campaign staff after losing the Connecticut GOP's endorsement to Linda McMahon, is running campaign ads:

Jim Geraghty reports on a "strange development" in the Connecticut Senate race: "Rob Simmons isn’t quite leaving the Connecticut Senate race… but he’s not going to campaign, either."

You know he's bad off when MSNBC calls the Democrat "embattled."

Given Dodd's bad poll standing, other Democrats have gone out of their way to give him the spotlight in hopes he could recover before November.