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Dem Renaissance In CT: Blumenthal Beats The Field In Race To Replace Dodd

Evan McMorris-Santoro | January 14, 2010, 9:05AM

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

According to a new poll, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is in position to dash the hopes of Republicans hoping to pick up Sen. Chris Dodd's (D) seat this year. The popular Blumenthal defeats all major GOP contenders for the seat by huge margins in a new poll from Quinnipiac University, a result that highlights the political difficulties for Dodd that led to his decision not to seek reelection.

In the poll's hypothetical matchups, Blumenthal defeats the front-runner in the GOP primary for the seat, former Rep. Rob Simmons, 62-27. Blumenthal leads self-funder Linda McMahon, who's running behind Simmons in the GOP primary race according to the Q poll, 64-23.

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Richard Blumenthal

Another Poll Shows Blumenthal Way Ahead For Dodd's Senate Seat

Eric Kleefeld | January 7, 2010, 1:53PM

CT Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D)

The new Rasmussen poll of Connecticut, conducted last night in the wake of Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd's retirement announcement, confirms that Democratic state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is now the heavy favorite to keep the seat for the party.

Blumenthal leads former Rep. Rob Simmons by 56%-33%; Blumenthal leads former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon by 58%-34%; and Blumenthal leads financial analyst Peter Schiff by 60%-24%. These results are fairly similar to yesterday's numbers from Public Policy Polling (D), which was conducted just before the news of Dodd's retirement and Blumenthal's entry into the race.

Dodd had been performing badly in previous Rasmussen polls. From the pollster's analysis: "With a single announcement, Chris Dodd transformed the Senate race in Connecticut from one that leaned in the GOP direction to a fairly safe bet for the Democratic Party."

Richard Blumenthal

Poll: Blumenthal Already Way Ahead Of Connecticut GOP Senate Candidates

Eric Kleefeld | January 6, 2010, 12:30PM

CT Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)

There is already a poll out of the Connecticut Senate race, demonstrating that Sen. Chris Dodd's (D-CT) retirement has drastically improved Democratic chances of holding the seat, with state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal holding landslide leads over the Republican candidates.

By a very fortunate coincidence, Public Policy Polling (D) was already in the field with a poll testing both Dodd and Blumenthal as Democratic nominees, in order to determine whether Democrats would do better by dumping the incumbent. The answer is an emphatic yes.

Dodd and Blumenthal were each tested against the three Republican candidates: Former Rep. Rob Simmons, former Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon, and financial analyst and Ron Paul activist Peter Schiff. Dodd trailed Simmons by 44%-40%, was tied 43%-43% with McMahon, and led Schiff by 44%-37%. By contrast, Blumenthal leads Simmons by 59%-28%, is ahead of McMahon by 60%-28%, and leads Schiff by 63%-23%.

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Chris Dodd

Dodd's Retirement Could Improve Dem Chances To Hold Seat

Eric Kleefeld | January 6, 2010, 9:02AM

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)

The big news this morning is that Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) is expected to announce at noon today that he is retiring from the Senate. While usually a retirement by an incumbent is bad news for a party, in this case Dodd's retirement almost certainly improves Democratic chances for holding the seat with a stronger candidate.

Connecticut is a Democratic-leaning state, which Barack Obama carried with 61% of the vote in 2008, but Dodd himself had consistently been running badly in the polls against his Republican challengers, largely as a result of the controversial mortgage he received from Countrywide Financial.

A Quinnpiac poll from this past November put Dodd's approval rating at only 40%, with 54% disapproval, compared to a 58%-35% rating for Obama. Dodd also trailed the two main GOP candidates, former Rep. Rob Simmons and former Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon.

The other key factor here is that state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has already announced that he will run, and will officially kick off the campaign with a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET. Blumenthal was first elected in 1990, and has been easily re-elected ever since. There not been any publicly released polling on the prospect of Blumenthal for Senate -- though as it turns out, Public Policy Polling (D) will be coming out with just such a thing later today, and we'll be sure to pick it up. But here's a key number on Blumenthal: The same round of Quinnipiac polling that gave Dodd such bad numbers in November also showed Blumenthal with an approval rating of 78%-13%.

Late Update: Ned Lamont, the 2006 Democratic nominee for Senate against Joe Lieberman, who is currently exploring a campaign for governor, released this statement:

"For three decades, Chris has been Connecticut's best friend, a powerful defender of the constitution and a tireless advocate for families and children. Chris, Jackie and their family deserve a short break, but I'm sure that there are many more chapters in Chris' life of public service."

"This announcement does not change my own plans. I will continue to explore a run for Governor because I believe the stakes for Connecticut are too high and that we need innovative, entrepreneurial leadership to kickstart our economy, create new jobs, and honestly balance our budget."

Chris Dodd

Dodd Internal Poll: He Can Win!

Eric Kleefeld | December 22, 2009, 4:49PM

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)

Sen. Chris Dodd's (D-CT) campaign has released an internal poll, saying that the endangered incumbent's chances for re-election in 2010 aren't so bad as people think.

The poll, conducted by the Democratic firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, has Dodd trailing Republican former Rep. Rob Simmons by 51%-46%, and in a 46%-46% tie with former Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon. That might sound unimpressive for an incumbent, but consider that other recent polls have Dodd behind Simmons by around ten points. Then again, this is an internal poll that the campaign chose to release, so the obvious caveats apply.

"Once voters hear both positive and negative information about all three candidates, Dodd gains ground and leads McMahon by 5 points, 50 to 45 percent, and is in a statistical dead heat with Simmons, 49 to 48 percent," the polling memo says, though it's not immediately clear just what all of these pieces of information were. "Furthermore, voters respond positively to Dodd's work in the Senate, particularly on health care reform, the passage of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act, and Dodd's economic plan to help small businesses and create jobs."

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McMahon Camp Suggests Obama's WWE Spot Invalidates Dems' Argument Against Her

Christina Bellantoni | December 16, 2009, 10:54AM

Former Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon (R-CT)

We've kept readers up-to-date on the fight up in Connecticut over GOP candidate Linda McMahon's involvement with World Wrestling Entertainment.

McMahon (R-CT) is one of several candidates hoping to challenge Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) next year. She is the former CEO of the wrestling corporation and wife of WWE principal Vince McMahon.

The McMahon camp is using President Obama's planned 30-second segment for a troops special this weekend (and past appearance on WWE during the presidential primary campaign) to suggest the Democratic argument against her candidacy is invalid.

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Linda McMahon

Former Pro Wrestler Slams Linda McMahon's Senate Campaign

Eric Kleefeld | November 19, 2009, 1:13PM

Wrestler "Superstar Billy Graham", CT-Sen candidate Linda McMahon (R)

Former Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon, a candidate for the Republican nomination to run against Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), is now facing some strong attacks from a Mr. Eldridge Wayne Coleman -- a.k.a. "Superstar Billy Graham," a former pro-wrestler who worked for McMahon.

"She may look like a Sunday school teacher," said Graham, who described himself a conservative, and who supports one of McMahon's GOP rivals, former Rep. Rob Simmons. "Linda McMahon's hands are as bloody as her husband's [Vince McMahon] because she is aware of every move in the ring."

Graham said that the McMahons condoned steroid use that damaged wrestlers' health (including himself), didn't provide health care or pensions to those same wrestlers, and have quickly shifted from all manner of inappropriate TV programming -- ranging from wrestlers being told to cut themselves with razors in order to bleed on stage, to "bra and panty" wrestling matches between scantily-clad female performers -- to cleaner content in the run-up to her campaign.

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Linda McMahon

Linda McMahon: We Need To Focus On Real Issues, Not 'Fictitious Content' Of Pro-Wrestling

Eric Kleefeld | November 17, 2009, 5:10PM

Former Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon (R-CT)

Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon, a candidate for the Republican nomination to run against Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), denounced Democratic attacks on her for the racy moments in pro-wrestling.

Connecticut Democrats have gone after McMahon for some of the WWE's content, including depictions of public sex, rape and necrophilia.

McMahon was asked about it in an online chat hosted by The Day:

WWE is a company that produces fiction. It's a soap opera that runs 52 weeks a year. I think instead of focusing on fictitious content, we need to focus on the issues that are real: unemployment, job creation, healthcare, education and the direction our country is taking in terms of fiscal issues. Those are the serious issues of the day, not the fiction that WWE creates for its entertainment product.

I will also say that the people I have spoken to around this state smile when I give the analogy that I don't believe the voters who elected Arnold Schwarzenegger expected him to show up in one of his outfits from the movie "Terminator" in Sacramento.

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CT Dems Charge WWE Violated Campaign Finance Law By Removing Necrophilia Video

Christina Bellantoni | November 2, 2009, 11:19AM

Connecticut Democrats filed a Federal Elections Commission complaint today against Linda McMahon, her campaign and World Wrestling Entertainment, charging they violated the law by removing racy WWE videos last month.

McMahon (R-CT) is one of several candidates hoping to challenge Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) next year. She is the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment and wife of WWE principal Vince McMahon.

After TPMDC and others posted videos of WWE scenes depicting simulated rape and a wrestler pretending to have sex with a corpse, they were taken down from YouTube.

We spoke at the time to WWE's VP of PR and corporate communications, who said accusations the removal had anything to do with politics are false, but Democrats charge the move is equivalent to a campaign contribution from a corporation.

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McMahon Buys Statewide Airtime During Dodd-Obama Fundraiser

Christina Bellantoni | October 21, 2009, 2:30PM

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Candidate for Senate Linda McMahon

Senate hopeful Linda McMahon (R-CT) has bought airtime for a statewide campaign ad Friday aimed to compete with President Obama's fundraiser for Sen. Chris Dodd.

Dodd (D-CT) and Obama are doing a $1,000 per plate fundraiser as part of the president's political push this week.

McMahon, a billionaire who is the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, will speak to the camera for the 30-second ad. It will run throughout the state and also reach into the New York media market.

Campaign spokesman Ed Patru said:

"Chris Dodd has spent a career chasing special interest cash and looking out for their interests. He was asleep at the switch while the banking system crashed, then he rewarded his special interest friends in the financial industry with taxpayer-funded bonuses. He's created a mess and it's time for him to go. It's important for Connecticut voters to know that just as another 6,600 people in the state have lost their jobs, and the state's unemployment rate hits a 33-year high, Chris Dodd is calling in every last political favor he's built up over 30 years as a career politician, and scrounging for every last special interest dollar in an attempt to save his job. Linda will remind Connecticut's families of that Friday."

McMahon is one in a crowded field of Republicans hoping to unseat Dodd next fall, and we posted last week about the Connecticut Democrats going after her WWE ties.

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WWE Removes Necrophilia Videos From YouTube After Dems Use Them Against McMahon

Christina Bellantoni | October 16, 2009, 6:05PM

A few hours after TPMDC detailed Connecticut Democrats using racy World Wrestling Entertainment scenes against GOP candidate Linda McMahon, WWE had YouTube remove the videos.

Connecticut political blog My Left Nutmeg caught their removal, but the Democrats mashed up the most eye-popping (and not-safe-for-work-or-children) scenes with voiceover of McMahon talking about how "PG" and "fun" WWE is. She's the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment and wife of WWE principal Vince McMahon.

It's worth noting that WWE only removed a handful of videos, not the more than 500,000 that exist on YouTube. I've asked folks in their corporate headquarters for more information, and will update when they respond.

Also, a source points out that Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), who McMahon hopes to defeat in 2010, has taken more than $922,000 from the TV and movie industry, according to OpenSecrets. The source wonders if Dodd condones violence and sex depicted on film.

Late update: WWE's VP of PR and corporate communications got back to me just now, saying accusations the removal had anything to do with politics are false.

"It's an ongoing battle with online piracy," Robert Zimmerman told TPMDC. "It's copyrighted material, it's our intellectual property."

He said they "scour" the Internet for their videos and said they go after all of them, not just ones used for political purposes.

"We would love to be able to take everything down," he said. "It's WWE content and if we own it we are asking them to take it down."

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CT Dems: WWE Clips Suggest McMahon Condones Necrophilia

Christina Bellantoni | October 16, 2009, 1:44PM

Connecticut Democrats have unearthed some generally gross videos of WWE scenes as evidence they say proves GOP candidate Linda McMahon has "no place" in the Senate.

Billionaire McMahon (R-CT) is one of several candidates hoping to defeat Sen. Chris Dodd (D) in the 2010 race. She's the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment and wife of WWE principal Vince McMahon.

In a release today, the Connecticut Democratic Party sent reporters links to WWE videos they say objectify women. Among the videos are wrestlers engaged in a simulated rape, a public sex scene and one depicting a wrestler having sex with a corpse. Warning, the video clips are very much not safe for work.

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Simmons Raises $1 Million. Now What?

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 14, 2009, 5:58PM

Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon, Former Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT)

The race to find a challenger for Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) is going to be an expensive one. Yesterday, former Rep. Rob Simmons (R) announced he raised nearly $1 million in the fundraising quarter ending tomorrow. The same day, Linda McMahon, one of his challengers in the GOP primary, told reporters she's pumped $3 million of her own money into the race -- and spent $2M of it on ads that are already running.

Running in the Nutmeg State is always a pricey prospect -- eventually, candidates have to run TV ads in the ultra-expensive New York City television market. But with McMahon spending so much so early, Simmons will likely need to start putting his own money where is mouth is before he planned. His fundraising total means suggests he's serious about challenging the self-funding McMahon and has the base of support to make a go of it. So look for big spending by him sooner rather than later.

By the time either of these candidates gets to Dodd in the general next year -- a race national Republicans think they can win and so will probably spend party money on -- the Senate race will have already become a serious cash cow for consultants and media buyers.

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Linda McMahon Self-Financing Millions On Senate Bid

Eric Kleefeld | October 14, 2009, 2:01PM

Former Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon (R-CT)

Former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon, one of the candidates for the Republican nomination against Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), has been spending a lot of her own money on the race -- $2 million of it in just two weeks, the Hartford Courant reports:

McMahon is already spending at a blistering pace compared with her opponents. She launched a major television advertising blitz with commercials on the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" and during a prime-time Notre Dame football game.

McMahon spent $2.05 million for the period ending Sept. 30 and has $1.45 million in cash on hand, her campaign said Tuesday night. She loaned $3 million to the campaign and made $496,000 in in-kind contributions for expenses she paid on behalf of the campaign.

It's interesting to note that when McMahon launched her campaign a month ago, she said would be running a different kind of campaign, and that she would be limiting all individual contributions to $100. It appears one individual is excluded from that rule, and is making up the difference.

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Pro-Wrestling Executive Officially Launches Bid For GOP Nomination Against Dodd

Eric Kleefeld | September 16, 2009, 1:29PM

Former Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon (R-CT)

Linda McMahon, the CEO of Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment, has now officially resigned her position in order to run for Senate in 2010 against Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) -- joining a crowded Republican field, despite the NRSC's efforts to rally behind former Rep. Rob Simmons.

In her announcement video, McMahon introduces herself, touts her long experience in business, and pledges to run an unconventional campaign: "For starters, I won't be accepting campaign contributions from PAC's or other special interest groups -- and I will limit all contributions from individuals to $100. I think Connecticut deserves a Senator that isn't bought and paid for by the banks and Washington special interests."

To her credit, this is a pretty good video. Then again, another video of her has been making the rounds -- the sort of thing that might detract from her efforts to be taken seriously.

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