Senate Smackdown in Connecticut: Hard Hitting and Big Spending

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Linda McMahon, right, and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Richard Blumenthal, left, debate in Hartford, Connecticut, on Monday, Oct. 4, 2010.

(Rich Messina/Pool via AP Photo)

Connecticut Senate: Linda McMahon Wrestles Richard Blumenthal

The latest McMahon ad features video from a 2003 speech Blumenthal gave in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Using clip of the speech, the ad attacks Blumenthal for erroneously saying he served in Vietnam, when in reality he received a series of deferments before joining the Marine Corps Reserves in Parris Island, South Carolina.

"Would you lie about serving in a war?" the ad's narrator says. "Dick Blumenthal did again and again. He covered one lie with another."

The ad shows Blumenthal bemoaning a lack of appreciation from the American people: "When we return we saw nothing of this gratitude."

Up until last night, Blumenthal had dismissed accusations he was straight-out lying, explaining that what he said was largely just "misplaced words." Last night, however, Blumenthal delivered his mea culpa.

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"There is nothing new in this ad, and there is nothing new about the McMahon attack on me," Blumenthal, the state's Democratic attorney general said, adding that he was "sorry" that on a handful of occasions he exaggerated his military service. "I regret it. I take full responsibility for it."

A Quinnipiac University poll from Sept. 14 suggests that for most voters, the Vietnam issue will not be a major factor in their decision on Election Day. Still, Democrats are taking no chances. The national party is pouring money into the state, hammering McMahon over her management of the WWE.

In a new ad, the narrator says, "As CEO [of WWE,] McMahon laid off workers but took millions in bonuses." In most recent polls, McMahon is still trailing Blumenthal but the race is getting closer, forcing Democrats to spend precious resources on a race they thought would not have to worry about. For her part, McMahon has already made the list of all-time biggest self-spenders in an election. According to Roll Call, only three Congressional candidates in history have donated more personal money to their own campaigns than she. And with the polls showing the race tightening, she's not finished spending.