Airwaves battle: McMahon vs. Blumenthal

Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - With less than ten weeks until Election Day, the attack ads on television in Connecticut's U.S. Senate race have already begun.

There was a brief break following the August 10th primary but now Republican Linda McMahon is wasting no time targeting Democrat Dick Blumenthal.

According to one report McMahon is spending more than $100,000 a day on this campaign. Blumenthal can't do that, so McMahon is attacking the way he is raising money. He says he can't be bought no matter who is paying his campaign bill.

Dick Blumenthal spent the day with business leaders in northeastern Connecticut. While on TVs throughout the state, Linda McMahon continues to hammer at this issue.

McMahon TV commercial: "Since January, he's taken a half-a-million dollars from Political Action Committees and special interests. How can he fight the special interests if they're paying for his campaign?”

It's part of the McMahon media campaign to convince voters that Blumenthal misled people about soliciting and accepting those contributions. It's been supplemented by direct mail pamphlets over the past couple of weeks on the very same issue.

"These constant negative attacks are politics as usual,” Dick Blumenthal said. “People are fed up with them. I'm going to take the high road."

Blumenthal TV commercial: "Linda McMahon's latest attack ad... doesn't she get it? Dick Blumenthal will always stand up to the special interest."

Blumenthal's campaign is rebutting the McMahon campaign on television, but with a commercial full of testimonials to Blumenthal.

Is McMahon's strategy working with voters? Apparently it is with some.

"Like to have some truth, I mean, it's on the television and he says these things, and also about his time in Vietnam,” Jim Booth of Brooklyn.

But for others the goodwill toward Blumenthal seems to be strong.

"All of the negative campaigning literature that I've received from Linda McMahon is an effort to discredit Mr. Blumenthal because she has no record to run on," said Maureen Nicholson of Pomfret.

News 8’s mark Davis: “Do you care where he's raising his money from? Or do you just trust him? Or is that an issue for you that he's raising money from Political Action Committees?”

"Naw. That is absolutely not an issue for me," Rene Morin of Thompson commented.

Also Wednesday, the Blumenthal Campaign announced a new group called "Republicans for Blumenthal,” registered Republicans who say Linda McMahon is not qualified to be a United States Senator.

Apparently it is part of a strategy to not have Blumenthal himself criticize his opponent.