Tom Foley and Linda McMahon were the big winners at last night's Republican straw poll in Middletown.
According to Kevin Rennie, gubernatorial candidate Foley picked up 138 votes, compared with 35 for Oz Griebel and 18 for Mike Fedele.
While some Fedele supporters have suggested on Twitter that Foley bought his win, Foley's campaign manager, Justin Clark, reads it differently. He says the results show that Foley's message is resonating.
"Voters are tired of the status-quo in our Capitol and are responding well to Tom's unique perspective, business experience and leadership ability,'' Clark said in a statement on the poll results. "As Governor, he will fix the mess in Hartford and get Connecticut working again.''
In the U.S. Senate race, McMahon received 106 votes, to Peter Schiff's 46. Rob Simmons, the quasi-candidate and former congressman whose district included Middletown for one term before the lines were redrawn due to redistricting, got 34 votes.
"I certainly hope it's a portent of the upcoming primary, that's what I'm hopeful for,'' McMahon said during a brief phone interview this morning. "I'm not taking the primary for granted, that's for sure.''
Mayor Seb Giuliano is among McMahon's Middletown backers. Giuliano used to be squarely in Simmons' camp -- he's still listed as a supporter on Simmons' website. But after the convention, when Simmons "curtailed" his campaign, Giuliano switched to McMahon.
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