page_title: 2010 Linda McMahon U.S. Senate campaign
section_title: McMahon family campaign presence
hierarchical_section_title: 2010 Linda McMahon U.S. Senate campaign / Analysis / McMahon family campaign presence
caption_attribution_description: English: en:Vince McMahon at a en:WWE Raw event. en:Bradley Center, en:Milwaukee, Wisconsin, en:September 24en:2007. Taken by me. 日本語: ビンス・マクマホン 2007年9月24日 WWE Raw ウィスコンシン州ミルウォーキー大会
context_page_description: Linda McMahon, formerly CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, ran for U.S. Senator from Connecticut from September 16, 2009, to November 4, 2010. On May 21, 2010, she won a majority of support from the Connecticut Republican Party. She ran as a Republican, promising lower taxes, fiscal conservatism, and job creation. McMahon spent $50 million of her own money on the campaign, allowing her to refuse campaign donations from special interest groups. She gained name recognition and popularity over her Republican opponents, including Rob Simmons, the prior frontrunner.
  Simmons, who forced an August primary election, had suspended his campaign shortly after the State Republican convention, but resumed campaigning in late July, participating in debates, and advertising on television. Peter Schiff gained placement on the primary ballot by collecting signatures. McMahon won the August 10 primary, but lost the general election to Richard Blumenthal, then Attorney General of Connecticut, her Democratic opponent.
context_section_description: McMahon's husband, Vince McMahon, did not actively campaign for his spouse, causing some to wonder if Linda was purposely distancing herself from him. In February 2010, Linda said Vince was too busy "running the company" as both chairman and CEO to campaign, but said he may be involved "down the road". Several speculators predicted that if he campaigned with her, his direct association with controversial wrestling skits would be a "major liability".
  McMahon's son-in-law, WWE wrestler Triple H, gave an interview to The Wall Street Journal on March 12, 2010, where he said he had purposely kept an "arms length away from Linda" during her campaign to avoid giving her bad publicity. On March 14, 2010, a news story in the Stamford Advocate revealed that her husband, Vince McMahon, owned a 47-foot sports yacht called The Sexy Bitch. Linda's absence from the wrestling industry was also noted on April 20, when an article by the Greenwich Time reported that she was courting voters in Westport, Connecticut while her husband was running a live wrestling event at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
  Vince McMahon appeared together with Linda for the first time on April 21, 2010, at a charity function at Sacred Heart University. At one point during the event, he reportedly grabbed a microphone and said to Richard Blumenthal:
  My name is Vince McMahon and my wife is the one who's going to beat you this fall.
caption: Vince McMahon did not appear on the campaign trail with Linda for much of her campaign.
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