Christopher Shays is out with a new video testimonial, courtesy of former Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele.
The two Republicans go back more than two decades, with Fedele having represented the same 147th General Assembly District (Stamford) as Shays in Hartford.
The video is a clear attempt by Shays to burnish his credentials among Republican primary voters that he is a true fiscal conservative, which the campaign of rival Linda McMahon has repeatedly questioned.
“Chris in Congress was a strong fiscal conservative,” Fedele says in the minute-long spot posted on Shays’ campaign website. “He brought integrity and honesty to that position.”
Fedele referenced a March 22 Quinnipiac University poll showing Shays in a statistical dead heat with Democrat Chris Murphy in a hypothetical general election match-up. McMahon, in contrast, trailed by 15 points.
“We desperately need a Republican in the U.S. Senate,” Fedele said. “Look, an independent Quinnipiac Poll shows that Chris Shays is the only Republican candidate who can beat a Democrat in the general election.”
That same poll showed McMahon with a nine point lead over Shays in the GOP primary, down from 15 points previously.