Linda McMahon, the Republican former wrestling executive who ran unsuccessfully for a Connecticut Senate seat in 2010, has she announced she will run for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joseph Lieberman in 2012.
“I’m a proven job creator,” McMahon said at a press conference announcing her latest campaign, CNN reports.
“It is clear to use regardless of what political party you belong to, that we are going down the wrong economic path, a path and track we have to get off of. And we have to get off in a hurry,” she continued.
McMahon, the wife of WWE founder Vince McMahon, was the CEO of the company until she announced her last senate run in 2009. A recent Quinnipiac poll showed her leading her likely primary opponent, former Congressman Chris Shays, 50 percent to 35 percent.
The same poll also showed her trailing Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy in a general election contest, and the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee was quick to pour cold water on her candidacy in a statement released to the press.
“Linda McMahon tried to buy the election last year with more than $50 million dollars of attacks and negative campaigning,” said DSCC spokesman Matt Canter in the statement. “But even last year, when voters everywhere were electing Republicans, Connecticut voters said they didn’t need a greedy CEO like McMahon who made her fortune by putting her own profits before the health and safety of her workers and marketing sex and violence to children.”
McMahon, who lost Connecticut’s last election by more than 10 points against then-Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, says that voters are tired of Washington’s mismanagement of the economy. (RELATED: Senate Republicans challenge Obama’s math)
“Two years ago, employment was about 8 percent. Today it’s over 9 percent…. We were looking back two years ago to a terrible recession. Now we’re looking forward into possibly another one,’’ she said. “Investors and entrepreneurs are holding onto their money. They can’t plan ahead, because nobody knows how many taxes, mandates, or liabilities the government is going to lay on us.’’