McMahon's Deep Pockets Win Over Connecticut GOP

Linda McMahon has no legislative record and few revealing public remarks. But her pledge to spend $50 million of her own money on a senatorial bid may have won her the backing of Connecticut's GOP establishment.

Linda McMahon’s sudden rise is good news for Republicans who seek a viable candidate to challenge popular Connecticut Attorney General Dick Blumenthal in the state’s senatorial election this fall. But has Connecticut’s GOP chosen her based on sympathy to McMahon’s values, or did they choose her merely because she has deep pockets?

This week, former Congressman Rob Simmons suspended his campaign against Linda McMahon, effectively ending the Republican primary. Simmons’ decision came after the state Republican convention voted to endorse McMahon.

But Republicans in the state may not have endorsed McMahon for her principles or policies. “It’s not anything that she said in terms of her policy positions that swayed the [Republican] delegates, no way. I think it was more on the viability and what the polls were suggesting,” said Gary Rose, the chairman of the Department of Government and Politics at Sacred Heart University.

What actually appealed to Republicans in Connecticut, it seems, were her deep pockets and viability against Democrat Dick Blumenthal. “Her deep pockets and her spending really impressed the candidates, for one. That fact that she did have [something] to do with the Blumenthal [Vietnam service scandal] also impressed the delegates. And those factors put her over the top,” said Scott McLean, a professor of political science at Quinnipiac University.

Further, her image has been designed as one that fits within the atmosphere of contempt towards so-called ‘political insiders’. “She’s perceived as a real outsider, something that resonates quite well with voters in Connecticut. Not having experience is being seen as a virtue,” noted Rose.

Ironically, her deep pockets and ‘outsider status’ has encouraged establishment Republicans to silently support her campaign, especially when she pledged to spend up to $50 million of her own money to finance her campaign. Says Professor Rose:

Some Republicans have rallied to her [because of this promise]. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is relieved because… they don’t have to raise money; the Republican state central committee has also been in her court, in a subtle way.

She may be a strong contender for the Senate seat – but will Connecticut Republicans stay true to her campaign as time continues? It is hard to tell – being an outsider means that she has no established legislative record and fewer revealing public remarks.

So what does she really stand for? A trip to Linda McMahon’s website reveals little – a short list of typical Republican boilerplate and a confusing catch-phrase: ‘People create jobs, not governments’. Indeed, nothing in her platform can really be considered exciting or unique for a Republican running in Connecticut. “It is a typical New England, Republican message… today Republican messages are those found outside the New England area… [in contrast] this is a pretty standard, typical, Rockefeller Republican type of campaign,” explains Professor Rose.

Several factors complicate Linda McMahon’s path to victory. Simmons, by all accounts a qualified contender for the GOP nomination, appeared particularly bitter after the suspension of his campaign – in an interview with National Review Online, it appeared doubtful whether he would eventually endorse his erstwhile opponent. Continued infighting among Republicans would likely hurt McMahon’s chances.

The other wildcard is whether the revelations regarding Democrat Dick Blumenthal’s Vietnam claims will stick. Although McMahon received a bump in the polls after the New York Times’ damaging exposé, which revealed that Blumenthal had been exaggerating his role in the Vietnam War, the most recent Quinnipiac poll shows Blumenthal with a 25 point lead, 56% to 31%.

That said, with six months left to go in the race, McMahon’s growing name recognition and seemingly bottomless resources leave room to doubt whether Blumenthal’s election is inevitable.

“She certainly has the money to sustain a protracted battle with Dick Blumenthal, whether he’s damaged or not,” said McLean. “I would give the edge to Blumenthal, but he’s been doing everything he can recently to neutralize that edge. It’s going to get closer and closer as [the race] goes on. Right now, Blumenthal will still show up ahead in the polls.”

If Republicans are to capture the Senate seat once held by Sen. Chris Dodd, McMahon will have to further explain what she stands for. As of now, she has not been a convincingly impressive candidate, her personal funds aside.

Down the stretch, McMahon has to convince voters that she has the sophistication and intelligence to represent Connecticut in the highest legislative body in the nation; that she is not merely buying the seat, but working earnestly to warrant it.