Peter Schiff, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2010, has endorsed former Congressman Christopher Shays for the nomination in this November's election.

Schiff, a Weston resident and CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, said that Connecticut's Republicans would be foolish to hand the nomination back to Linda McMahon, who ran unsuccessfully against Senator Dick Blumenthal in 2010. "Unfortunately, too many Republicans [at the state convention in 2010] believed the vast amount of money that Linda was prepared to spend was going to be her biggest asset," Schiff said in a video uploaded to Shays' campaign site. "It became her biggest liability."

Schiff said Connecticut voters did not want to put the Senate seat up for sale in 2010 and will act the same way this year. Though he said he originally planned to stay neutral during this campaign, Schiff said that since it appears Republican voters are going to give the nomination to McMahon again, he decided to break his silence.

"The stakes are too high to throw away a Senate seat," he said. "We handed one to Dick Blumenthal. We don't want to hand one to Chris Murphy." Schiff said that while some voters might consider Shays a RINO—he was known as a moderate during his 21 years representing Connecticut's 4th Congressional District—that's simply not the case.

"Chris has assured me that he is going to fight for the principles we hold dear," he said. "He understands the problems" of runaway government spending.

Schiff said that because of Shays' experience in Congress, he'll be ready to get to work on day one and won't require on-the-job training.

"He knows how to get things done in Washington," he said. "Other Senators will take Chris Shays seriously from day one." Schiff said he has nothing against McMahon—he likes her—but she's proven she's incapable of winning.