Connecticut Republicans are heading into their state convention today with a new and improved spring in their loafers following revelations that Democratic Senate front-runner Richard Blumenthal lied about having served in Vietnam.

The bombshell left the GOP suddenly thinking what less than a week ago seemed unthinkable — that it could snatch the seat that Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd has held since 1981.

“This is a game changer,” said Raj Shah, a spokesman for GOP candidate Rob Simmons.

Ed Patru, a spokesman for Simmons’ opponent, Linda McMahon, agreed it was a “huge momentum booster.”

Blumenthal, who had once commandeered a massive lead in the polls, admitted on Tuesday that he “misspoke” when he said — more than once — that he had served in Vietnam.

As it turns out, he was in the military during that era, but he never left the United States.