Former World Wrestling Entertainment chief executive—and wife of Vince—Linda McMahon won the Connecticut Republican Senate primary yesterday. According to the Courant, she "came on stage to Survivor's 'Eye of the Tiger.'" She said of the Republican Party, "Families don't always get along and don't always agree, but, in the end, they do stand together." This means she'll be vying for Senator Christopher Dodd's seat this fall against Richard Blumenthal, the Democratic candidate and fake Vietnam vet). As Democrats slam her WWE connections, McMahon said she is willing to spend up to $50 million on the race. more ›

After being named Stephen Colbert's "Alpha Dog of the Week" for brazenly changing his positions as he considers a Senate race in New York, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. sat down with the comic and addressed insinuations that he's a carpet-bagger and a flip-flopper. more ›

In his still unofficial Senate campaign, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. called his likely rival Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand a "parakeet" and blasted her for her ties to high-ranking Democrats. Ford — who once donated money to Gillibrand's campaign — lashed out against the Senator in an interview with Fred Dicker, noting that candidates need "to be more independent" and "understand that you're not elected to the United States Senate to be a parakeet or to take instructions from the Democratic leadership." more ›

In an ironic twist, formerly-obscure Republican Scott Brown won the Massachusetts Senate seat occupied by the late Ted Kennedy from 1962 until his death in August, throwing into jeopardy Congress's most recent attempt to pass some kind of health care reform, Kennedy's most beloved cause. Brown's decisive 52-47 percent victory over Attorney General Martha Coakley has Republicans giddy and Democrats panicked—Brown doesn't think waterboarding is torture, opposes a federal cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon emissions, and posed nude for Cosmo. more ›

It's desperate, it's risky, and it's an eleventh hour guilt-by-association Hail Mary, but panicked Democrats are hoping that a video showing an off-color remark at a political rally yesterday will derail a looming Republican Senate win in Massachusetts. Yesterday some yahoo at a rally for Republican Scott Brown yelled, "Shove a curling iron up her butt!" The comment was a reference to Brown's opponent, Attorney General Martha Coakley, who was criticized for not aggressively pursuing a child rape case in 2005. In the video below, Brown does not say anything in response to the remark, but he appears to smile in response! It's not quite a Macaca moment, but for Democrats, it'll have to do. more ›

The Post reports, "Top state Republicans will urge former Mayor Rudy Giuliani to abandon his interest in running for governor and run instead against unelected US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand." Apparently some think there isn't support for a Governor Giuliani, what with polls showing that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo would beat him, but Senator GIuliani has a more appealing ring—"State Republicans describe Giuliani's chances against Gillibrand as excellent and say the statewide organization fielded by Cox to become party leader could become a powerful base for a Giuliani Senate race." Interesting, especially since former governor George Pataki has been mentioned as a possible Senate candidate—but he's got a lot of baggage. more ›

The last time Chuck Schumer ran for reelection for his Senate seat in 2004, he was victorious by the widest margin in state history at 71% to 24%. Right now it appears that he could top that in his bid for reelection next year. With the mayor going for a third term, Giuliani and Lazio considering a shot at the state house and Peter King already eying the Senate seat now held by Kirsten Gillibrand, Republicans are essentially looking for a jobber to throw up against Chuck. When asked who might run, Conservative Party chief Mike Long said, "If you're trying to ask a 'gotcha' question, I guess you got me." One poli-sci professor described it, "You've got (Muhammad) Ali in one corner and a couple of guys from the high school gym in the other." But with the recent attention drawn to his lax standards for Wall Street before the economic crisis, GOP operative Roger Stone thinks Schumer should be considered more vulnerable saying, "He should be the poster child for the financial meltdown." The last time a Republican won a Senate race in New York was 1992. more ›

Long Island Congressman Peter King tried to take care of a campaign donor in the manhole cover business by sending $3 million in federal funds their way for covers that Con Edison refused to even use. Various people connected to the Long Island company Manhole Barrier have donated almost $17,000 to King, who requested the federal funding in earmarks for locking manhole covers they said would thwart terrorists. But Con Ed said no to the covers that would only cover 2% of their manholes, saying they would be an obstacle to firefighters as well. One Con Ed official told the News, "We said 'no,' it's impractical. What are you going to do? Have 250,000 keys for these things?" Con Ed says that security cameras plus the 300-pound weight of their covers should be more than enough to protect from any terrorist infiltration. King is gearing up for a Senate bid, in all likelihood against newly appointed Senate replacement Kirsten Gillibrand. more ›

Whoa: The NY Times, Post, and Daily News are reporting the same thing—that Caroline Kennedy has ended her six-week quest to take the junior Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton. (However, a source tells the AP that's not true—see the 11:24 p.m. update below.) more ›