Large voter turnout for pricey Senate race

CHESHIRE, Conn. (WTNH) -- Connecticut's highly competitive U.S. Senate race appears to be bringing out huge numbers of voters across the state.

The race between Republican Linda McMahon and Democrat Chris Murphy appears to be among the most expensive races ever held in the nation.

McMahon voted at the North Street School in Greenwich Tuesday. She has now spent close to $100 million of her own money in her two senate bids, the largest amount of personal wealth ever spent in a campaign for federal office, even more than Ross Perot spent running for President.

Murphy voted at Cheshire High School Tuesday, his campaign has received millions in help from Democratic Political Action Committees to combat the McMahon advertising onslaught.

The race has brought out long lines of voters in many areas of the state, and most people told News 8 they made up their mind weeks ago, and it was not a hard decision.

"I like Linda McMahon," said Donald Aiello, of Cheshire, "it was not difficult, a few weeks back I had made the decision."

"Did the debates help you make the decision," asked News 8's Mark Davis.

"Yes, they did," said Aiello.

"I voted for Linda McMahon," said Renee Kurtz, of Cheshire. "I voted for her the last time she ran, so I knew I was going to be voting for her again."

"I made it several months ago, it wasn't too difficult," said Mary Jane Slocum, of Cheshire. "I like Chris Murphy."

"I like Murphy and I think he's a good person for the job," said Stanley Wallace, of Cheshire.

Most complaints Tuesday were about the long lines and some confusion about voter IDs. A photo ID is not required, just something that has your name and address, like a utility bill, or your name and signature, like a credit card.

One thing was unanimous Tuesday: voters opinions about the TV commercials.

"Terrible, actually both sides," said Ralph Nied, of Cheshire. "I didn't like either one of them, got to the point where we'd mute both of them when they came on."

No matter what the outcome, the commercials will be gone Wednesday.

The Secretary of the State is predicting a 75 to 80 percent turnout statewide. Turnout was 78 percent in 2008.