William Tong Catches a Case of Linsanity

Asian-American U.S. Senate candidate William Tong is hoping to capitalize on the success of Asian-American basketball sensation Jeremy Lin.

“Counted out because nobody ever gave him a shot, the son of Chinese-American immigrants-turned-New York Knicks point guard has captured the nation’s imagination,” Tong, a Democrat, writes in a fundraising email sent out by his campaign this morning.

“When somebody finally gave him a chance, he took the NBA by storm. He’s arrived, but he got here with a decade of hard work and confidence against the odds. He’s the underdog who made it. He’s living the American Dream,” Tong says.

Tong says Lin’s runaway success is an inspiration to underdogs everywhere. Tong’s own Senate campaign is something of a longshot–a state representative from Stamford, he lags in public opinion polls behind his two better-known Democratic opponents, U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy and former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz.

“Let’s make this a campaign for all the underdogs in the nation,” Tong’s email concludes. “Let’s send an underdog to the U.S. Senate to fight for all of us.