2012 United States Senate election in Connecticut

The 2012 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 6, 2012, in conjunction with the 2012 U.S. presidential election, other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Primaries to elect Senate candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties were held on Tuesday, August 14, 2012.^[2]

2012 United States Senate election in Connecticut

← 2006 November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06) 2018 →
Turnout	60.9% (voting eligible)[1]
Nominee Chris Murphy Linda McMahon Party Democratic Republican Alliance Working Families Independent Popular vote 828,761 651,089 Percentage 54.82% 43.07%
County results Municipality results Congressional district results Murphy:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% McMahon:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
U.S. senator before election Joe Lieberman Independent Elected U.S. Senator Chris Murphy Democratic

Incumbent U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, an independent who caucused with the Democratic Party, decided to retire instead of running for re-election to a fifth term.^[3] Republican businesswoman Linda McMahon faced Democratic representative Chris Murphy in the general election and lost, marking two defeats in two years.^[4] Elected at the age of 39, Chris Murphy would be the youngest senator in the 113th United States Congress.

Background

In the 2006 election, incumbent Joe Lieberman was defeated in the Democratic primary by businessman Ned Lamont and formed his own party, Connecticut for Lieberman, winning re-election. Lieberman promised to remain in the Senate Democratic Caucus, but had since stood against the Democrats on many significant issues, including his endorsement of Republican 2008 presidential nominee John McCain over Barack Obama.^[5] As a result, Lieberman's poll numbers among Democrats dropped significantly.^[6][7]

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal was reportedly considering a run against Lieberman,^[8] but instead ran for and won Connecticut's other Senate seat in 2010 after U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd announced his retirement.^[9]

Lieberman had publicly floated the possibility of running as a Democrat,^[10] Republican,^[11] or an independent.^[12] However, on January 19, 2011, he announced that he would not run for another term.^[3]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Susan Bysiewicz, former Connecticut Secretary of State^[13]
• Chris Murphy, U.S. Representative^[14]
• Sylvester Salcedo, attorney^[15]
• Lee Whitnum, anti-AIPAC activist and software engineer^[16]

Withdrawn

• Matthew Oakes, activist (endorsed Murphy)^[17]
• William Tong, State Representative (running for re-election; endorsed Murphy)^[18]

Debates

The first Democratic debate took place on February 23, 2012, with Murphy, Bysiewicz, and Tong participating.^[19] The first televised debate was held on April 5, with Murphy, Bysiewicz, Tong, Oakes, and Whitnum participating.^[20] A debate was held at UConn on April 9, with the five candidates participating.^[21] A debate sponsored by WFSB took place on April 15, with all five taking part.^[22]

Convention

Delegates of the Connecticut Democratic Party endorsed Chris Murphy at their state party convention held on May 12. Murphy was the choice of 1,378 delegates (76 percent), while Susan Bysiewicz won 444 delegates (24 percent), enough to qualify for the August 14 primary. Matthew Oakes received the support of one delegate from Hartford. Lee Whitnum's name was not placed in nomination.^[23]

Endorsements

Chris Murphy

Politicians

• Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States^[24]
• George Jepsen, Connecticut attorney general^[18]
• Kevin Lembo, Connecticut comptroller^[18]
• Dan Malloy, Connecticut governor^[18]
• Denise Merrill, Connecticut secretary of the state^[18]
• Matthew Oakes, disabled American and former U.S. Senate candidate^[25]
• Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States^[26]
• William Tong, state representative and former U.S. Senate candidate^[18]
• Nancy Wyman, Connecticut lieutenant governor^[18]

Organizations

• AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations)^[27]
• Connecticut High School Democrats
• NARAL Pro-Choice America^[28]

Susan Bysiewicz

• EMILY's List^[29]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Bysiewicz	Chris Murphy	William Tong	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[30]	March 17–20, 2011	400	±4.9%	38%	40%	—	—	21%
Quinnipiac[31]	September 8–13, 2011	447	±4.6%	26%	36%	1%	2%	35%
Public Policy Polling[32]	September 22–25, 2011	400	±4.9%	33%	39%	8%	—	19%
Quinnipiac[33]	March 14–19, 2012	640	±3.9%	25%	37%	4%	5%	29%
Quinnipiac[34]	May 29 – June 3, 2012	538	±4.2%	20%	50%	—	5%	24%
Public Policy Polling[35]	July 26–29, 2012	400	±4.9%	32%	49%	—	—	18%

Results

Results by county:

  Murphy—70–80%

  Murphy—60–70%

  Murphy—50–60%

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chris Murphy	89,283	67.4%
	Democratic	Susan Bysiewicz	43,135	32.6%
Total votes			132,418	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Brian Hill, attorney^[36]
• Peter Lumaj, attorney^[37]
• Linda McMahon, businesswoman and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010^[38]
• Chris Shays, former U.S. Representative^[39][40]
• Kie Westby, attorney^[16]

Declined

• John Ratzenberger, actor

Debates

A debate sponsored by the Norwich Bulletin took place on April 19, 2012, with McMahon, Shays, Lumaj, Hill, and Westby in attendance.^[41] The debate was not televised. The first televised debate took place on April 22, 2012, sponsored by WFSB.^[42] All five candidates participated.

Convention

Delegates of the Connecticut Republican Party endorsed Linda McMahon at their state party convention held on May 18. McMahon was the choice of 730 delegates (60 percent), while Chris Shays won 389 delegates (32 percent), enough to qualify for the August 14 primary. Brian K. Hill, Peter Lumaj, and Kie Westby did not meet the 15 percent threshold necessary to automatically qualify for the primary, receiving the support of 62, 22, and 5 delegates, respectively.^[43] Hill pursued a post-convention attempt to petition his way onto the primary ballot, but fell short of the 8,319 signatures required and suspended his campaign in June.^[44]

Endorsements

Chris Shays

Politicians

• Penny Bacchiochi, Connecticut State Representative from the 52nd district^[45]
• Roy Blunt, U.S. Senator (R-MO), and former Congressman^[46]
• Sam Caligiuri, former State Senator, and 2010 nominee for Connecticut's 5th congressional district^[47]
• Michael Fedele, former Connecticut lieutenant governor^[16]
• Mark Lauretti, Mayor of Shelton, Connecticut^[48]
• John McCain, U.S. Senator (R-AZ), and 2008 Republican Presidential Nominee^[46]
• John McKinney, minority leader of the Connecticut Senate^[16]
• Dick Morris, political author and Fox News commentator who previously worked as a pollster, political campaign consultant, and general political consultant and former adviser to President Bill Clinton^[49]
• Peter Schiff, economist noted for predicting the housing bubble, and 2010 Senate candidate
• Rob Simmons, former U.S. Representative for Connecticut's 2nd congressional district^[50]

Organizations

• AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations)^[27]
• League of Conservation Voters^[51]

Newspapers

• The Norwich Bulletin's editorial board^[52]

Linda McMahon

Politicians

• Mark Boughton, mayor of Danbury and Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in 2010^[53]

Organizations

• GOProud^[54]

Brian K. Hill

Politicians

• Herman Cain, former CEO of Godfather's Pizza and former 2012 presidential candidate

Organizations

• Republican Liberty Caucus

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jason McCoy	Linda McMahon	Chris Shays	Other	Undecided
Quinnipiac[55]	September 8–13, 2011	332	±5.4%	—	50%	35%	2%	12%
Public Policy Polling[32]	September 22–25, 2011	400	±4.9%	3%	60%	27%	—	10%
Quinnipiac[33]	March 14–19, 2012	429	±4.7%	—	51%	42%	1%	6%
Quinnipiac[34]	May 29 – June 3, 2012	381	±5.0%	—	59%	30%	1%	9%
Public Policy Polling[35]	July 26–29, 2012	400	±4.9%	—	68%	20%	—	12%

Results

Results by county:

  McMahon—80–90%

  McMahon—70–80%

  McMahon—60–70%

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Linda McMahon	83,413	72.7%
	Republican	Chris Shays	31,305	27.3%
Total votes			114,718	100.0%

General election

Candidates

• Linda McMahon (Republican, Independent), businesswoman and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010^[56]
• Chris Murphy (Democratic, Working Families), U.S. Representative^[56]
• Paul Passarelli (Libertarian)^[56]

Campaign

Susan Bysiewicz was the first to declare herself as a candidate.^[57] However, by March 2011 Chris Murphy had raised over $1 million to Bysiewicz's $500,000. Murphy had won election to Connecticut's 5th congressional district, which is considered Republican-leaning, and he promoted himself as the most electable candidate against a Republican challenger. Bysiewicz, the former Secretary of the State of Connecticut, enjoyed high name recognition while a statewide officeholder, and had a formidable face-off with Murphy. William Tong, a state representative, joined the race touting his biography as the son of Chinese immigrants working at a Chinese restaurant.^[58] In January East Hartford resident Matthew John Oakes announced his candidacy. Oakes pointed to his real-life experience being a disabled American, victim of crime, and civil rights activist, growing up in the inner city and being a political outsider.^[59]

Wide speculation continued on Linda McMahon, who had a widely publicized race for senator in 2010. She lost the election decisively, but had strong finances and a well-established political organization.^[58] McMahon met with her former campaign consultant to review her 2010 results, and said she was leaning towards running. She planned to make a decision regarding another run after the start of 2012. Former congressman Chris Shays joined in August 2011, promoting his involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan's military contracting.^[60] Shays campaign had also gained traction from a series of independent polls showing him beating or in a dead heat with the top Democratic contenders in the general election, while those same polls showed McMahon losing handily to each of the top Democratic contenders.^[45] The Shays campaign quickly capitalized on these polls, arguing for the former Congressman's electability while questioning McMahon's electability due to her loss in an open Senate seat contest in 2010 by a large margin despite spending $50 million of her own money, also citing her high unfavorable numbers among state voters, and the weak fundraising numbers of the McMahon campaign.^[61]

In July 2012, Shays declared that he would not support McMahon if she won the primary. He said that he had "never run against an opponent that I have respected less—ever—and there are a lot of candidates I have run against," adding that "I do not believe that Linda McMahon has spent the time, the energy to determine what [being] a senator really means." He also said that during the last debate he had with McMahon, "I thought she was embarrassingly clueless" and that "I think she is a terrible candidate and I think she would make a terrible senator." Although he said he would not support Chris Murphy, he expected him to win the Democratic nomination and the general election.^[62]

In September 2012, the records of the McMahons' 1976 bankruptcy and specifics of nearly $1 million unpaid debts from the proceeding were published.^[63] In days the candidate and her husband announced the "intention to reimburse all private individual creditors that can be located".^[64]

Debates

• Complete video of debate, October 7, 2012
• Complete video of debate, October 11, 2012
• Complete video of debate, October 16, 2012
• Complete video of debate, October 18, 2012

Fundraising

Candidate (party)	Receipts	Disbursements	Cash on hand	Debt
Chris Murphy (D)	$10,543,456	$10,436,219	$107,239	$189,925
Linda McMahon (R)	$50,956,502	$50,262,442	$351,464	$1,250,000
Source: Federal Election Commission[65][66]

Top contributors

Chris Murphy	Contribution	Linda McMahon	Contribution
Moveon.org	$112,864	Morgan Stanley	$31,050
Yale University	$69,101	Linda McMahon for Senate	$26,174
League of Conservation Voters	$47,388	General Electric	$24,250
Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder	$44,916	Ott International	$15,000
Travelers Companies	$41,000	Thor Industries	$12,500
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company	$40,650	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$11,231
Sullivan & Cromwell	$36,500	Ceci Brothers Inc.	$10,000
Comcast Corporation	$36,000	Invemed Associates	$10,000
Shipman & Goodwin	$35,511	Midstream Partners	$10,000
Northeast Utilities	$34,789	Tudor Investment Corporation	$10,000
Source: OpenSecrets[67]

Top industries

Chris Murphy	Contribution	Linda McMahon	Contribution
Retired	$1,041,795	Financial Institutions	$121,717
Lawyers/Law Firms	$861,258	Retired	$81,949
Financial Institutions	$580,370	Misc Business	$55,302
Real Estate	$319,466	Manufacturing & Distributing	$46,500
Leadership PACs	$302,500	Misc Finance	$38,050
Insurance Industry	$302,025	Business Services	$28,932
Health Professionals	$285,150	Real Estate	$27,000
Democratic/Liberal	$267,018	Republican/Conservative	$25,630
Universities	$232,951	Candidate Committees	$24,874
Business Services	$228,550	Lawyers/Law Firms	$24,372
Source: OpenSecrets[68]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[69]	Tossup	November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[70]	Lean D (flip)	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report[71]	Lean D (flip)	November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics[72]	Lean D (flip)	November 5, 2012

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Chris Murphy (D)	Linda McMahon (R)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[73]	March 17–20, 2011	822	±3.4%	54%	38%	—	9%
Quinnipiac[74]	September 8–13, 2011	1,230	±2.8%	49%	38%	—	11%
Public Policy Polling[75]	September 22–25, 2011	592	±4.0%	50%	43%	—	6%
Quinnipiac[33]	March 14–19, 2012	1,622	±2.4%	52%	37%	—	9%
Quinnipiac[34]	May 29 – June 3, 2012	1,408	±2.6%	46%	43%	—	9%
Public Policy Polling[35]	July 26–29, 2012	771	±3.5%	50%	42%	—	8%
Rasmussen Reports[76]	August 21, 2012	500	±4.5%	46%	49%	—	5%
Public Policy Polling[77]	August 22–23, 2012	881	±3.3%	48%	44%	—	8%
Quinnipiac[34]	August 22–26, 2012	1,472	±2.6%	46%	49%	—	4%
Univ. of Connecticut/Hartford Courant[78]	September 11–16, 2012	517	±4.0%	37%	33%	1%	28%
Public Policy Polling[79]	September 24–26, 2012	801	±3.5%	48%	42%	—	10%
Quinnipiac University Poll[80]	September 28 – October 2, 2012	1,696	±2.5%	47%	48%	—	5%
Rasmussen Reports[81]	October 7, 2012	500	±4.5%	51%	46%	2%	1%
Siena Research Institute[82]	October 4–14, 2012	552	±4.2%	46%	44%	—	8%
Univ. of Connecticut/Hartford Courant[83]	October 11–16, 2012	574	±4%	44%	38%	—	17%
Public Policy Polling/LCV[84]	October 15–16, 2012	1,015	±3.1%	48%	44%	—	8%
Mason-Dixon[85]	October 15–17, 2012	625	±4%	44%	44%	—	12%
SurveyUSA[86]	October 19–21, 2012	575	±4.2%	47%	43%	3%	4%
Rasmussen Reports[87]	October 21, 2012	500	±4.5%	48%	47%	2%	3%
Quinnipiac[88]	October 19–22, 2012	1,412	±2.6%	49%	43%	1%	7%
Rasmussen Reports[89]	October 28, 2012	500	±4.5%	51%	45%	1%	3%
Public Policy Polling[90]	November 1–2, 2012	1,220	±2.8%	52%	43%	—	4%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Bysiewicz (D)	Mark Boughton (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[73]	March 17–20, 2011	822	±3.4%	44%	34%	22%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Chris Murphy (D)	Mark Boughton (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[73]	March 17–20, 2011	822	±3.4%	52%	29%	19%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Bysiewicz (D)	Linda McMahon (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[73]	March 17–20, 2011	822	±3.4%	50%	39%	12%
Quinnipiac[74]	September 8–13, 2011	1,230	±2.8%	46%	38%	12%
Public Policy Polling[75]	September 22–25, 2011	592	±4.0%	47%	46%	7%
Quinnipiac[33]	March 14–19, 2012	1,622	±2.4%	49%	39%	9%
Quinnipiac[34]	May 29 – June 3, 2012	1,408	±2.6%	42%	46%	9%
Public Policy Polling[35]	July 26–29, 2012	771	±3.5%	45%	42%	13%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Bysiewicz (D)	Michael Fedele (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[73]	March 17–20, 2011	822	±3.4%	45%	35%	20%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Chris Murphy (D)	Michael Fedele (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[73]	March 17–20, 2011	822	±3.4%	51%	29%	20%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Bysiewicz (D)	Scott Frantz (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[73]	March 17–20, 2011	822	±3.4%	45%	30%	24%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Chris Murphy (D)	Scott Frantz (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[73]	March 17–20, 2011	822	±3.4%	51%	27%	22%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Joe Lieberman (I)	Chris Murphy (D)	Peter Schiff (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[91]	September 30 – October 2, 2010	810	±3.4%	19%	39%	25%	17%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Joe Lieberman (I)	Chris Murphy (D)	Jodi Rell (R)	Undecided
Research 2000[92]	January 11–13, 2010	600	±4.0%	23%	25%	47%	2%
		810	±3.4%	33%	47%	—	20%
Public Policy Polling[91]	September 30 – October 2, 2010	810	±3.4%	17%	37%	29%	17%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Joe Lieberman (I)	Ned Lamont (D)	Jodi Rell (R)	Undecided
Research 2000[93]	March 23–25, 2008	600	±4.0%	25%	30%	42%	2%
Research 2000[94]	September 8–10, 2009	600	±4.0%	26%	26%	46%	2%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Joe Lieberman (I)	Ned Lamont (D)	Alan Schlesinger (R)	Undecided
Research 2000[95]	March 31 – April 2, 2008	600	±4.0%	37%	51%	7%	5%
Research 2000[96]	June 30 – July 2, 2008	600	±4.0%	36%	51%	7%	6%
Research 2000[96]	November 11–13, 2008	600	±4.0%	34%	59%	3%	2%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Bysiewicz (D)	Chris Shays (R)	Undecided
Quinnipiac[74]	September 8–13, 2011	1,230	±2.8%	40%	42%	16%
Public Policy Polling[75]	September 22–25, 2011	592	±4.0%	37%	48%	16%
Quinnipiac[33]	March 14–19, 2012	1,622	±2.4%	42%	43%	13%
Quinnipiac[34]	May 29 – June 3, 2012	1,408	±2.6%	40%	44%	11%
Public Policy Polling[35]	July 26–29, 2012	771	±3.5%	40%	43%	17%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Chris Murphy (D)	Chris Shays (R)	Undecided
Quinnipiac[74]	September 8–13, 2011	1,230	±2.8%	43%	37%	17%
Public Policy Polling[75]	September 22–25, 2011	592	±4.0%	43%	39%	18%
Quinnipiac[33]	March 14–19, 2012	1,622	±2.4%	41%	40%	17%
Quinnipiac[34]	May 29 – June 3, 2012	1,408	±2.6%	45%	37%	15%
Public Policy Polling[35]	July 26–29, 2012	771	±3.5%	47%	38%	15%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Susan Bysiewicz (D)	Rob Simmons (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[73]	March 17–20, 2011	822	±3.4%	42%	39%	19%
Public Policy Polling[75]	September 22–25, 2011	592	±4.0%	41%	42%	17%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Chris Murphy (D)	Rob Simmons (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[73]	March 17–20, 2011	822	±3.4%	49%	34%	18%
Public Policy Polling[75]	September 22–25, 2011	592	±4.0%	45%	36%	20%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	William Tong (D)	Rob Simmons (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[75]	September 22–25, 2011	592	±4.0%	32%	39%	29%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	William Tong (D)	Linda McMahon (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[75]	September 22–25, 2011	592	±4.0%	38%	45%	17%
Quinnipiac[33]	March 14–19, 2012	1,622	±2.4%	39%	43%	9%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	William Tong (D)	Chris Shays (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling[75]	September 22–25, 2011	592	±4.0%	27%	46%	27%
Quinnipiac[33]	March 14–19, 2012	1,622	±2.4%	25%	50%	21%

Hypothetical polling

With Mark Boughton

With Susan Bysiewicz

With Michael Fedele

With Scott Frantz

With Joe Lieberman

With Chris Shays

With Rob Simmons

With William Tong

Results

United States Senate election in Connecticut, 2012^[97]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Chris Murphy	792,983	52.45%	+12.72%
	Working Families	Chris Murphy	35,778	2.37%	N/A
	Total	Chris Murphy	828,761	54.82%	+15.09%
	Republican	Linda McMahon	604,569	39.99%	+30.37%
	Independent Party	Linda McMahon	46,520	3.08%	N/A
	Total	Linda McMahon	651,089	43.07%	+33.45%
	Libertarian	Paul Passarelli	25,045	1.66%	N/A
	Write-in		6,869	0.45%	+0.45%
Total votes			1,511,764	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic gain from Independent Democrat

Counties that flipped from Independent to Democratic

• Fairfield (largest town: Bridgeport)
• Hartford (largest town: Hartford)
• Middlesex (largest town: Middletown)
• New Haven (largest town: New Haven)
• New London (largest town: Norwich)
• Tolland (largest town: Vernon)
• Windham (largest town: Windham)

Counties that flipped from Independent to Republican

• Litchfield (largest city: Torrington)

By congressional district

Murphy won all 5 congressional districts.^[98]

District	Murphy	McMahon	Representative
1st	59.81%	38.61%	John B. Larson
2nd	52.74%	44.92%	Joe Courtney
3rd	59.66%	38.65%	Rosa DeLauro
4th	53.5%	44.525%	Jim Himes
5th	50.72%	47.79%	Elizabeth Esty

See also

• 2012 United States Senate elections
• 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut

References

1. Dr. Michael McDonald (February 9, 2013). "2012 General Election Turnout Rates". George Mason University. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
2. "Candidate Committees, Exploratory Committees, and Durational Political Committees Organized for the November 6, 2012 Election" (PDF). State of Connecticut, State Elections Enforcement Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
3. "'To everything there is a season:' Lieberman announces plan to end Senate run". Connecticut Post. January 19, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
4. Geiger, Kim (November 6, 2012). "Democrat Murphy beats GOP's McMahon in Connecticut Senate race". Los Angeles Times.
5. Sargent, Greg (December 17, 2007). "FLASHBACK: Lieberman Said He Wanted To Help Elect "Democratic President In 2008"". Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
6. Peoples, Steve (November 15, 2010). "Lieberman's 2012 Race Calculus Is Big Mystery". Roll Call. Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
7. Ball, Molly (November 23, 2010). "Joe Lieberman left with limited 2012 options". Politico. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
8. Wilson, Reid (February 3, 2009). "Connecticut attorney general eyes Lieberman challenge". The Hill. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
9. "Richard Blumenthal announces candidacy for U.S. Senate". NECN. January 6, 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
10. J. Taylor Rushing (March 13, 2009). "Lieberman open to reunion with Democratic Party". The Hill. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
11. Bash, Dana (December 16, 2010). "Lieberman won't rule out run as Republican in 2012". CNN. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
12. O'Brien, Michael (January 17, 2011). "Lieberman says he would likely pursue reelection as an Independent". The Hill. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
13. Pazniokas, Mark (January 18, 2011). "Bysiewicz to declare for U.S. Senate". The Connecticut Mirror. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
14. Jacobs, Jeremy P.; Taylor, Jessica (January 20, 2011). "Chris Murphy To Run For Senate". National Journal. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
15. Vigdor, Neil (August 16, 2011). "McMahon close to launching another Senate bid". The Westport News. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
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External links

• Connecticut Secretary of State – Elections and Voting
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets
• Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation
• Candidate issue positions at On the Issues

Official campaign websites (archived)

• Linda McMahon for U.S. Senate
• Chris Murphy for U.S. Senate