Linda McMahon for Senate

Feb 8, 2010

Linda Is Now The “Strongest Candidate,” Which Has Simmons Getting “Very, Very Desperate.”

LINDA IS THE “STRONGEST CANDIDATE” AGAINST BLUMENTHAL

“McMahon has turned out to be the quintessential outsider candidate. She is getting good reviews on the campaign trail and has vowed to spend at least $30 million of her own money on the race. She isn’t taking contributions over $100 and had invested $6 million in the race as of December 31.” (“Senate Overview: Competitive Democratic Seats,” Cook Political Report, 2/4/10)

“An argument can be made that McMahon would be the strongest candidate against the Democrat by virtue of her personal fortune and outsider status.” (“Senate Overview: Competitive Democratic Seats,” Cook Political Report, 2/4/10)

“Linda McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment executive, sat with The Hour editorial board last week. She’s pretty well briefed and if any challenger thinks she’ll be an easy mark, they’d better forget it. She’s already spent a lot of money and will spend a lot more. She’s edging ahead of former Rep. Rob Simmons in the Republican polls for the Senate nomination. She’ll be taking on the heir-apparent to Chris Dodd’s seat, Attorney General Dick Blumenthal. Early on, Blumenthal had been given favorite status, but that can change quickly in today’s political climate.” (John P. Reilly, “What’s the attraction to this job?” Norwalk Hour, 2/7/10)

ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT POLITICAL EDITOR NATHAN GONZALES: “There’s a sense that it’s going to take a ridiculous amount of money to defeat Blumenthal, and McMahon has shown a willingness to put in significant resources … There are Republicans who believe McMahon offers a greater contrast (to Blumenthal), that she brings more to the table…” (Ted Mann, “Simmons Brings New Perspectives To Senate Race,” New London Day, 2/7/10)

LINDA IS “POISED TO STEAMROLL SIMMONS”

“McMahon Poised To Steamroll Simmons” (Kevin Rennie, “McMahon Poised To Steamroll Simmons,” Hartford Courant, 1/31/10)

“Rob Simmons, the former congressman from eastern Connecticut, thought he had a lock on the GOP Senate nomination until Linda McMahon stepped into the ring (a fitting choice of words.) Nothing is as fragile as a supposed lock on a nomination.” (John P. Reilly, “Race for governor is getting awfully crowded, folks,” Norwalk Hour, 1/31/10)

“I met with McMahon last week and saw why her rival, former Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, has gone from merely jumpy to jittery at the prospect of the full McMahon.” (Kevin Rennie, “McMahon Poised To Steamroll Simmons,” Hartford Courant, 1/31/10)

“But far more threatening to Simmons is McMahon, who launched a campaign in September into which she pledged as much as $50 million of her own fortune. She has proved a tough and determined opponent…” (Ted Mann, “Simmons Brings New Perspectives To Senate Race,” New London Day, 2/7/10)

“I’m doubtful that Simmons can stop the crafty, savvy McMahon and her team of high-powered advisors. She very well may be the next U.S. Senator from Connecticut.” (Rick Green, “Linda McMahon, Retard Jokes and the WWE Soap Opera,” Hartford Courant’s CT Confidential Blog, 2/5/10)

“Even before Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) dropped out of the Connecticut Senate race, Republican Rob Simmons saw his fundraising pace cool off in the final three months of 2009.” (Josh Kraushaar, “Simmons’ Fundraising Dropoff,” Politico, 1/29/10)

SIMMONS ATTACKS SHOW HE’S “VERY, VERY DESPERATE”

“You are Rob Simmons. And you look very, very desperate.” (D. Dowd Muska, “Rob Runs from His Record,” D. Dowd Muska Blog, 1/21/10)

“So what’s a left-wing Republican to do, when a viable opponent surfaces and offers voters something better? Attack. Starting in October, you launched a series of increasingly nasty, petty, and often baseless broadsides against McMahon. Some were laughers — the accusation that your opponent is not sufficiently committed to ‘conservative fiscal principles’ was hilarious. Others, such as McMahon’s ‘failure to vote more than twice in her life before entering this campaign,’ were downright dishonest. Since 2000, which is as far back as records in the Greenwich registrar’s office go, McMahon has voted in five elections. Another accuracy-starved claim, that McMahon has refused to rule out an independent campaign, is easily belied. On several occasions, she has said she will support the GOP’s primary winner.” (D. Dowd Muska, “Rob Runs from His Record,” D. Dowd Muska Blog, 1/21/10)

“Simmons is hardly a fresh face, someone the angry electorate can count on for the next round of change. … His campaign rhetoric, on topics ranging from the trial of the 9/11 mastermind in New York to wrestler steroid scandals, is becoming increasingly negative and shrill.” (David Collins, “Rob Simmons is no Scott Brown,” New London Day, 1/22/10)

SIMMONS IS RUNNING FROM HIS RECORD

“Simmons now wants everyone to believe he’s sworn off his Big Government liberalism — that’s the reality of the ‘Connecticut Republican’ philosophy. His embrace of the Tea Party movement is so nakedly opportunistic that it’s almost obscene. Believe him at your own peril, but remember: Once a RINO, always a RINO.” (John Crowell, “Big Labor Republican,” Waterbury Republican American’s Worth Reading Blog, 2/8/10)

“He gave her the sword by voting three times against a ban on partial birth abortion. Most Connecticut Republicans, like McMahon, are pro-choice, but shudder at the reality of late-term abortions. It’s like trying to defend waterboarding. Then there’s card check. The Simmons campaign came unhinged recently when McMahon raised his support for eliminating a secret ballot in certain union elections.”(Kevin Rennie, “McMahon Poised To Steamroll Simmons,” Hartford Courant, 1/31/10)

“Rob Simmons doesn’t talk much these days about being a ‘big labor Republican,’ the label once bestowed on him by a Wall Street Journal editorial, and one he found useful in selling himself to skeptical independents and Democrats. And if he has mentioned his lifelong membership in the Sierra Club, as he did as a matter of course in his campaigns for Congress, it’s gone unnoticed in the press. It used to be that Congressman Simmons’ chief of staff would berate local reporters for making insufficient mention of the boss’ moderate qualifications – the National Journal surveys saying he was one of the most likely to break with party leaders, the endorsements from NARAL and the kind words from Planned Parenthood.” (Ted Mann, “Simmons Brings New Perspectives To Senate Race,” New London Day, 2/7/10)

“At the moment McMahon decides to shine a light on those votes with a barrage of brochures, e-mails and commercials, Simmons will be reduced to cinders. … McMahon has the means and substance to introduce Simmons to those voters in a way that will wound him. Polls have been conducted, focus groups mined. The operation will be efficient, targeted and overwhelming.” (Kevin Rennie, “McMahon Poised To Steamroll Simmons,” Hartford Courant, 1/31/10)

“You are Rob Simmons. And your candidacy is in trouble. … Polls showed you dominating the field. But then Linda McMahon, a woman with a business background, compelling narrative, and millions in the bank decided to seek ‘your’ nomination. That meant trouble. Because at a moment when fiscal responsibility and economic growth are the dominant issues — and many Nutmeggers support the tea-party movement — a record like yours is no asset.” (D. Dowd Muska, “Rob Runs from His Record,” D. Dowd Muska Blog, 1/21/10)

###

For more information, contact the Linda McMahon for Senate Press Office, 860-244-2010.