Linda McMahon Remains Politically Active Despite Senate Loss

She insists she isn't running for anything, but Linda McMahon is once again taking her money, clout and star power onto the campaign trail.

The Republican from Greenwich who poured $100 million into a pair of unsuccessful runs for U.S. Senate has said repeatedly that her days as a candidate are over.

Yet nine months after losing the 2012 Senate race to Democrat Chris Murphy despite an omnipresent television and direct mail marketing blitz, McMahon has quietly begun her third act in politics: as a key benefactor to the state Republican party, and a trusted adviser to its chairman, Jerry Labriola Jr.

"She's had every reason, after the outcome of her two races, to disappear, but she's done just the opposite," Labriola said. "She's been active and helpful and I know she's dedicated to our party making a strong comeback in Connecticut."

McMahon has no formal title or clearly defined position; her new role is largely playing out in private -- and through the pictures and comments that she posts on Twitter.

"She wants to work behind the scenes to make Connecticut a better place," said Labriola, who added that he often turns to her for advice.

The former CEO of WWE, the Stamford-based wrestling entertainment company, declined requests for an interview.

But one measure of McMahon's enduring celebrity -- and her generosity to the state party -- was her prime seat at the annual Prescott Bush fundraising dinner in May: She sat on the dais with other dignitaries, listening to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, the event's keynote speaker. Next month, she will co-host a $100-per-person fundraiser for Republican First Selectman Timothy M. Herbst of Trumbull.

"Linda is definitely going to be a player within the Republican party," said Gary L. Rose, chairman of the department of government and politics at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield and the author of a soon-to-be published book, "No Holds Barred: The 2012 Connecticut Senate race."

"Somebody with those resources, they don't just disappear into the woodwork," Rose said. "She's tasted politics and, even though things didn't really break her way, she's interested in having a voice."...More?

source: huffingtonpost.com