Despite Vietnam Flap, Blumenthal Still Has Wide Lead in Senate Race

Despite misstating his military service, Richard Blumenthal has a 25-point lead among Connecticut voters in the upcoming Senate race, according to a Quinnipiac poll. Recently, the New York Times reported that Blumenthal falsely stated that he had served in Vietnam. Following this report, other news sources uncovered other moments when Blumenthal misrepresented his military service. On several other occasions, however, Blumenthal accurately stated that he did not serve in Vietnam. Sometimes, he even gave conflicting accounts during the same speech.

Despite the controversy, Connecticut voters still support Blumenthal. In addition to showing a huge lead for Blumenthal, the poll also reveals that 57% of voters describe the Vietnam story as "not too important" or "not important at all." I predicted this outcome when the New York Times story first broke. My experience with Connecticut voters leads me to conclude that they are generally unmoved by gotcha politics.