Simmons hints he’ll resume Senate bid in Connecticut

We told you it could happen: Rob Simmons is hinting he might jump back into Connecticut’s Senate race.

The former GOP congressman tells the Hartford Courant’s Rick Green that he’s been fielding calls from people urging him to resume his challenge to Linda McMahon for the state’s Republican Senate nomination. McMahon, the former chairwoman of World Wrestling Entertainment, narrowly won the state GOP’s endorsement in May, prompting Simmons to “scale back” his campaign.

But Simmons pointedly refused to take his name off the ballot, and now he says he might resume campaigning ahead of the state’s Aug. 10 primary because he “owes” his supporters.

"I haven't made any final decisions,'' Simmons told Green."I'm getting a lot of phone calls from people. Six weeks ago the convention was over and I was very disappointed. My staff was despondent. My family was stunned. … I've been sitting on it now. People do come up to me [and] say, 'Gosh, I wish you were still in.'”

Simmons argues that he has more experience than McMahon, who has never held public office. The problem for Simmons is that he doesn’t perform better than McMahon against the Democratic nominee in the race, Dick Blumenthal. The most recent Quinnipiac poll found both Republicans losing by double digits to Blumenthal.

Still, Simmons refuses to concede the nomination. Pressed on whether he’ll run, Simmons told Green, “I’m thinking about it. … I’m trying to think about what’s right, what’s honest and what’s decent.”