Elections

McMahon campaign workers wear shirts similar to SEIU shirts, continue to encourage ticket splitting

Alexis Levinson Political Reporter
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Linda McMahon needs people who are voting for President Barack Obama to also vote for her, and on Election Day, her campaign is doing everything they can to help voters make that decision.

McMahon’s poll standers in cities are wearing shirts that look similar to those worn by the Service Employees International Union, the Connecticut Mirror reported Tuesday. The SEIU has endorsed McMahon’s opponent, Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy.

The shirts are the same purple as the SEIU’s shirts, except they say “I support Obama & McMahon.”

“It clearly is a rip off of our shirts,” Paul Filson, the political director of the SEIU, told the Mirror. “It definitely is confusing.”

McMahon campaign manager Corry Bliss “did not deny the similarity to SEIU garb,” according to the Mirror.

The shirts are part of the McMahon campaign’s efforts to encourage Connecticut residents to split their vote. The campaign has been running an ad featuring Obama voters who say they are also voting for McMahon. Over the weekend, they began placing doorhangers at the houses of known Obama voters encouraging them to vote for Obama but also for McMahon, whose name will appear on the Independent line, as well as the Republican line.

The McMahon campaign is handing out sample ballots Tuesday with the same message, showing checked boxes for Obama and right below, for McMahon, next to the Independent Party Line.

Ben Marter, communications director for Murphy, tweeted out a picture of the sample ballots, calling it “@Linda_McMahon desperately lying to voters she claims she wants to represent. CT deserves better.”

The McMahon campaign did not immediately respond to request for comment, but has told The Daily Caller in the past that in a state like Connecticut that Obama is expected to easily win, the only path to victory for a Republican is to draw crossover voters.

McMahon campaign communications director Todd Abrajano also alleged Sunday that the Murphy campaign had been telling voters it was illegal to split their ticket, and that their efforts were intended to inform voters that that was not true. The Murphy campaign denied the allegation.

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