Less than 24 hours after former WWE CEO Linda McMahon declared her candidacy for US Senate in Connecticut, economist Peter Schiff himself officially declared his Republican candidacy for Chris Dodd’s seat in the US Senate.
The latest polls released by Rasmussen shows Schiff within 2% points of Senator Chris Dodd in a hypothetical general election, however the GOP primary may be more of a struggle for Schiff. Just before his announcement Schiff was only polling in the single digits according to a poll by Research 2000.
However, with more than 12 months before a vote is cast, and less than 24 hours of official candidacy under his belt, polls mean very little.
Schiff has stated in his video blog that he believes the entrance of McMahon into the race may help him in the long run. McMahon has stated publicly that she is willing to spend $25 million of her own wealth on the race. In early interviews McMahon is painting herself as a Washington outsider, who has executive experience running a business, namely World Wrestling Entertainment inc. Schiff’s reasoning is that if McMahon’s message is palatable to the Connecticut voting public it may whittle the field down to Schiff and McMahon, brushing aside former Congressman, Washington insider and current frontrunner Rob Simmons.
If it becomes a two-person race between Schiff and McMahon, reasonable people would have faith in the voters to choose a candidate who has a through understanding of the current financial crisis (Schiff) over the former leader of pro wrestling (McMahon).
To date Schiff has raised a considerable amount of his $1 million online through wide spread national appeal though appearances on cable news and a strong grassroots presence on the internet, primarily YouTube. However now that he has officially announced his candidacy he will begin to put that money to work to reach voters in his state of Connecticut. He will always have the national fundraising network, which is made up of remnants of the 2008 Ron Paul presidential campaign, which Schiff served as economic advisor, as well as his fans and followers in the financial community who agree with his free market approach.
Schiff is also only five days away from releasing an updated version of his bestseller Crash Proof, which is aptly titled Crash Proof 2.0 this time around, which should give Schiff added momentum and exposure so his campaign can gain early prominence.
As for Linda McMahon, conservatives may find her political donation record more than troubling. She donated an astounding $15,000 to the Democratic National Campaign Committee between the years of 2006-2007. She also has donated $7,800 to Rahm Emanuel, the same Emanuel who is President Obama’s chief of staff and leading the charge on the Obama administration’s liberal agenda. It may only be a matter of time before McMahon is labeled a political opportunist.
Micro Sez:
Well, at least some people have decent candidates.
