Senate race is changed in a flash

While few professions are more unpredictable than politics, the whiplash speed at which the 2010 U.S. Senate race in Connecticut changed this past week was nonetheless stunning.

On Monday incumbent Sen. Christopher J. Dodd was soldiering on, undertaking a tour of the state to talk about jobs and how to create them. He continued to express confidence that he would get his low approval ratings turned around in time to win re-election next November.

By Wednesday Dodd was out of the race, transforming the Senate contest.

Until last week the biggest concern of former 2nd District congressman Rob Simmons was his primary challenger in the fight for the Republican senatorial nomination, former wrestling industry magnate Linda McMahon. Both candidates have largely ignored financier and Ron Paul protege Peter D. Schiff, another candidate for the Republican nomination.

In recent weeks the Simmons campaign had turned all its fire at McMahon, confident that their candidate could defeat Dodd once Simmons secured the GOP nomination.

The Simmons camp, in fact, feared that continued attacks on Dodd would drive down his poll numbers further and potentially push Dodd out of the race. Dodd was the candidate Simmons wanted to run against.

Of course, now Simmons won't get that chance, because of Dodd's wise decision to call it quits after five terms - 30 years - in the Senate. Instead Simmons, if nominated, will almost certainly face popular Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. The Democrat, in crusading for various consumer issues and taking on big corporate meanies, has over the years gotten more face time on local TV news than some anchormen. Blumie is arguably the most popular Connecticut politician this side of Gov. M. Jodi Rell, and probably as recognizable.

The National Republican Committee, which was ready to direct plenty of help and money to defeat Dodd, might not be so eager to target Connecticut given the formidable Blumenthal's entry into the race.

The Republican candidates talked bravely of taking on any foe, generating this headline on theday.com the day of the Dodd announcement: "GOP: Dodd's retirement doesn't change anything."

No, it changed everything.

The Republicans will try to recast Blumenthal's image from big-hearted, do-gooder fighting for the people into big-spending, anti-business, tax-raising liberal. And they will seek to force Blumenthal into defending Dodd's record and the record of Democrats in Washington.

But unless Blumenthal screws up, it won't work. This is his race to lose. That is how much things changed last Wednesday with Dodd's announcement.

Also last week there were signs that Linda McMahon's candidacy, despite the lavish spending she can afford as former CEO of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), could disintegrate. The Federal Elections Commission is ordering the candidate to disclose who received $567,000 in payments made by the candidate. For some reason McMahon thought it was OK not to say who was being paid to provide political consulting, computer work, legal services and the like. Isn't such transparency the whole point of financial campaign disclosures?

And with each week come more revelations about the ugly, debased world of professional wrestling through which McMahon made her fortune. Surely Republicans will come to realize that this is not the candidate to put up against a popular attorney general.

Paul Choiniere is editorial page editor.