Conn. Senate candidates resume campaigning

NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — The candidates in Connecticut's close U.S. Senate race were back on the campaign trail Friday after putting their schedules on hold following superstorm Sandy.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy spent the morning in southeastern Connecticut, greeting workers at Electric Boat in Groton with Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Jack Reed of Rhode Island. Afterward, Murphy greeted voters with Edward Kennedy Jr., the son of the late Massachusetts senator, at a downtown New London coffee shop.

Republican Linda McMahon, meanwhile, pitched her jobs plan to members of the Metro Hartford Alliance. She planned to rally her supporters at her Farmington campaign office Friday afternoon.

While both canceled their campaign schedules after the storm hit, McMahon and Murphy still had a public presence.

Murphy met with local officials and constituents throughout the 5th District, making sure their needs were being met. He also joined the rest of the congressional delegation and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Thursday to greet U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and view the storm damage. McMahon said she spent the week visiting emergency shelters up and down the coastline, visiting with evacuees and bringing pizzas, donuts, coffee and coloring books.

Neither candidate would say whether the storm has had any effect on their campaigns in the closing days.

"All I know is, that we are starting with our 72-hour blitz tomorrow, traveling around the state," McMahon said. "We have spent the last year putting our ground game together, with our 13 field offices. It will be fully launched."

Murphy said he hasn't thought much about the political implications of suspending the campaign for several days.

"I'm just glad that the state is largely safe and sound and that we're making progress here in New London and in other places to get people back online," he said, adding how he still has some work to do to make sure power to his district is fully restored. "But we're going to find some time to campaign in the last four days."

Despite a break from campaign events, both candidates continued to run their TV ads throughout the week.

On Friday, Murphy's campaign announced that President Barack Obama is appearing in a new commercial that urges voters to support Murphy on Election Day.

McMahon has attracted attention with two new commercials that feature computer generated images of Murphy, who she portrays as a career politician and lawyer that missed numerous congressional hearings. Murphy called the ads "creepy."