Campaign Notebook: Abortion Debated in Senate Race

Senate

U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy on the campaign trail questioned Linda McMahon’s commitment to supporting abortion and gay marriage.

“We already know that Linda McMahon tends to tell the tea party one thing and social conservatives one thing and Connecticut voters something different,” Murphy said in a conference call with reporters, according to the New Haven Register.

The Associated Press reports that Peter Wolfgang, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, said online that he’s voting for McMahon, ‘‘because her victory could mean the end of Roe v. Wade” even though she supports repealing the Defense of Marriage Act. 

The comments from Wolfgang prompted Murphy’s criticism. McMahon’s campaign dismissed the allegations that she's anti-abortion as “absolutely ridiculous,” according to the New Haven Register.

Fifth District

U.S. Speaker of the House Jim Boehner came to Hartford to raise money for Andrew Roraback. The total haul was more than $50,000, according to the Hartford Courant. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, an outside group funneling in money to support Elizabeth Esty, criticized the visit.

“Speaker John Boehner fundraising behind closed doors for Andrew Roraback will confirm what we’ve been saying for months — that Andrew Roraback is a sell out to the Tea Party Republicans and their unpopular agenda to end Medicare’s guaranteed benefits in order to fund tax breaks for millionaires,” said Stephen Carter of the DCCC, according to the Register Citizen.