60-year-old Linda McMahon has resigned her position as CEO of the massively popular World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in order to seek the Republican nomination for the seat in which Democrat Christopher Dodd currently holds. McMahon says that Dodd, who is planning to run for a sixth term, has lost his way and the trust of the people.
McMahon has served as CEO of the WWE since May 1997 and as the company’s president from May 1993 through June 2000. Her husband, and WWE co-founder, Vince McMahon, has been the chairman since 1980 and will assume her duties as CEO.
Does McMahon Stand a Chance?
Dodd faces a Democratic challenger, Merrick Alpert, but there are also three other Republicans Linda McMahon will face – former U.S. Representative Rob Simmons, state Senator Sam Caligiuri and former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley. According to the Associated Press, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is thrilled to see McMahon throw her hat into the ring, assuming the Republican primary is going to be an ugly fight.
McMahon focuses on the unbelievable debt and unemployment in this country, hoping that the serious nature of these issues will take a front seat against her very different past with the WWE. McMahon has the ability to spend potential tens of millions of dollars of her own money and promises to limit individual contributions to $100. She will also not accept contributions from political action committees or special interests.
WWE No Stranger to Politics
Former WWE superstar Jesse “The Body” Ventura jumped out of the pro wrestling ring and into the Minnesota governorship in 1999.
Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell appointed Linda McMahon to the Connecticut Board of Education. Lawmakers criticized her for sending a wrong message to children but her appointment was approved by the General Assembly this year.
McMahon has been an active supporter of GOP causes and politicians but has also given to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
McMahon Does Not Always Vote
In 2008 the WWE empire urged young adults to vote, but apparently Linda McMahon did not follow her own advice. She acknowledged on her campaign blog recently that she did not vote in the 2008 presidential primary after McCain became the GOP nominee. She claims it was one of her regrets, and admitted that she also missed a general election in 2006 as well as several local elections.
In her blog entry she wrote, “I regret it, I apologize, and I don’t make any excuses for it.”
State records, however, show that McMahon did vote twice in Connecticut, in the 2002 and 2008 general elections. The WWE even organized a campaign called “WWE’s Smackdown Your Vote!” which included a voter’s guide to help young voters during the 2008 presidential election.
Kathleen Strelow - Certain she was born in the wrong era, Kathleen is passionate about preserving our country’s history and is a member of the National ...
Join the Conversation