Former World Wrestling Entertainment chief executive Linda McMahon earned the Republican nomination for the Senate in Connecticut in the latest round of primaries Tuesday night. McMahon — who has tapped into her personal fortune to spend $22 million on her campaign so far — will now face popular attorney general Richard Blumenthal in the general election, in a duel the Times expects to be “among the most expensive and nastiest Senate contests in the country.”
The McMahon-Blumenthal cage match will kick off immediately with aggressive campaign ads. McMahon will highlight Blumenthal’s misrepresentation of his war record — he claimed to have served in Vietnam but never actually went — while Blumenthal’s campaign has been collecting embarrassing WWE videos like this one, in which she “kicked” a guy in the groin.
Connecticut was home to other election drama, as businessman Ned Lamont, who spent nearly $9 million of his own money on his campaign, was defeated by Dannel Malloy for the Democratic nomination for governor. Malloy will take on Republican Thomas Foley, a former ambassador in the George W. Bush administration.
Meanwhile, in Colorado, incumbent Democratic senator Michael Bennet defeated challenger Andrew Romanoff, a former state House speaker. Bennet had been publicly endorsed by President Obama, and the race was seen an indicator of public national sentiment for the Obama administration. Bennet will square off with Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck. In Georgia, Representative Nathan Deal and former secretary of State Karen Handel were engaged in a runoff for the gubernatorial nomination that was too close to call as of Tuesday night. The primary was a Republican proxy war: Deal was backed by Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich, while Handel was supported by Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin.
Lamont Loses Connecticut Primary for Governor [NYT]
G.O.P. Primary in Georgia Too Close to Call [Caucus/NYT]
Bennet wins big in Colo., while Ga. waits on cliffhanger [Politico]
