Senate Candidates Put Campaigns on Hold

Sandy has terrible timing.

With the storm hitting much of the Eastern U.S. just seven days before a crucial election, candidates have been forced to put their campaigns on hold. President Obama has called of a planned campaign stop to Green Bay Wisconsin so that he can stay in Washington to monitor the storm and oversee the federal government’s response.

In the hotly contested Connecticut Senate race, Democrat Chris Murphy and Republican Linda McMahon have both cancelled campaign events for Monday.

McMahon has turned her Twitter feed and Facebook page over to storm updates. “We’re trying to be as helpful as possible,” said McMahon spokesman Todd Abrajano, noting that McMahon has more than 90,000 followers across the two social media platforms.

Murphy, a congressman representing the 5th District, has focused on storm preparation and response, said his campaign spokesman Eli Zupnick. Murphy attended Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s emergency operations briefings at the state armory Sunday and  Monday mornings.

 On Sunday, immediately after joining former President Bill Clinton at a campaign rally in Waterbury, Murphy put reverted to his day job as a congressman. He stopped at Northeast Utlities western district headquarters in Waterbury for a briefing from utility officials.

Murphy said the utility company appears to have taken steps to address the problems it faced in the aftermath of last October’s snowstorm. “But the proof will be in what happens over the next several days,” Murphy said. ”I’m hoping to see different results this time.”

After leaving Malloy’s briefing Monday morning, Murphy travelled to Waterbury and New Britain to meet with elected officials and emergency coordinators in those cities. He was also fielding phone calls from postal employees who were being called into work.

As for when he intends to return to the campaign trail, Murphy said his focus now is ”100 percent on making sure the people I represent are safe.”

He added: “The storm will dictate when the campaign begins again.”