Former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon is leading in the GOP primary race for U.S. Senate in Connecticut, the latest Quinnipiac poll finds.
But despite McMahon's 51 to 42 percent lead over former Rep. Christopher Shays, her outlook is not completely positive. The poll found Shays, who served in Congress for 20 years, would have much better shot at beating the eventual Democratic nominee in November.
"In general election matchups, Shays runs neck and neck with either Congressman Christopher Murphy or Susan Bysiewicz, while McMahon trails both of them by double digits," writes Quinnipiac Poll Director Douglas Schwartz.
If that trend holds, history could repeat itself. In McMahon's bid for Senate in 2010, she succeeded in winning her party's nomination, but lost the general election to Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Murphy and Bysiewicz, the former Connecticut secretary of state, are the current frontrunners for the Democratic nomination, with Murphy enjoying a comfortable lead, 37 to 25.
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