Politico-$22 Million Buys WWE Wife Conn. Primary

Linda McMahon: AP

(Story reported by Maggie Haberman and Shira Toeplitz for Politico)

Wrestling maven Linda McMahon easily captured the GOP Senate nomination in Connecticut Tuesday, but if she thought free spending in a deep-blue state was the sole path to November success, her results showed that money isn't everything.

McMahon spent $22 million for a come-from-behind convention victory, but still fell just short of topping the 50 percent mark in Tuesday’s three-way Republican primary.

And that was against one opponent who’d dropped out and rejoined the race three weeks ago, and another with virtually no name recognition and even less cash.

But the limits of self-funding also were revealed on the Democratic side. One-time liberal hero Ned Lamont seemed poised to capture the gubernatorial nomination after outspending rival Dan Malloy by nearly five to one - only to lose to Malloy in a lopsided upset.

(click here to read the full story on the Politico website)