Why linda mcmahon lost

Vince returned to Raw this past Monday in a segment that saw him waking from a coma with Linda campaign stickers all over him, as well as a Blumenthal banner hanging from his rear end.

I liked the segment a lot despite the obvious pandering to WWE's audience. I thought Vince declaring that he hated politics was smart; it made it seem as if he hasn't been fighting for Linda this whole time. His one time appearance at the Fan Appreciation Night was considered a safe match, allowing HHH to protect his still injured pectoral muscle.

I miss the Game on Raw; he provides a degree of experience that none of the other Raw stars have right now. Murphy by 12 points. It was her second point Senate loss in two years. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal defeated her in and now faces an easy path to re-election in Notoriously media shy — she recently canceled an interview with a local columnist that her own PR team had set up, and she declined to sit for editorial board meetings during her primary — McMahon would not speak to CQ Roll Call for this story.

But reviews of her political contributions, as well as conversations with Republicans in Connecticut and around the country, reveal a failed candidate still engaged in the GOP — and not just as a big donor in Connecticut. Was this the same McMahon whose momentum had Democrats wringing their hands into the early fall? Hadn't she and Murphy at one point been tied in the polls?

What happened to that momentum? McMahon claimed her willingness to pay her own way to Washington D. She attacked Murphy for accepting special interest dollars from Wall Street and other sources.

But observers say her defeats, combined with millionaires who reached into their own resources such as Republican and Democratic gubernatorial and Senate candidates like Tom Foley and Ned Lamont , should be a lesson. And yet a late October Quinnipiac University poll found 61 percent of those surveyed were not that focused on McMahon's spending. State Rep. Tony Hwang , R-Fairfield, suggested voters may be wary of wealthy candidates who lack a resume of public service.

For example, though Washington-based Roll Call lists Blumenthal as the eighth wealthiest member of Congress, he was attorney general for 20 years with an earlier stint in the General Assembly. McMahon spent a year on the state Board of Education , resigning to challenge Blumenthal.

Make no mistake: If World Wrestling Entertainment, the Stamford company McMahon built with husband Vince, left the state, lawmakers from both parties would lament the economic impact. And also, according to Quinnipiac's poll, likely voters gave candidates with a business background the edge on qualifications versus career politicians, 49 to 39 percent. That same poll found 59 percent of respondents had a very to somewhat negative view of professional wrestling.

It's pro wrestling," said a Republican who works at the Capitol Building in Hartford who did not want to be identified.