UPDATED: Senate GOP candidate Linda McMahon criticized Mitt Romney today for saying 47% of Americans are "victims" who are "dependent on the government."

"I disagree with Governor Romney's insinuation that 47% of Americans believe they are victims who must depend on the government for their care," said McMahon, who seeks the Connecticut Senate seat of retiring independent Joe Lieberman.

"I know that the vast majority of those who rely on government are not in that situation because they want to be," McMahon continued in a statement posted on her website. "People today are struggling because the government has failed to keep America competitive, failed to support job creators, and failed to get our economy back on track."

Romney created a furor with his remarks, which were made during a fundraising event in May and caught on a secretly taped video. Last night, he stood by his message that Obama seeks to help Americans with government support.

GOP Rep. Allen West of Florida defended Romney on Fox News, saying the presidential nominee was "a little clumsy" and "could have better explained himself." Former New Hampshire governor John Sununu, a top Romney surrogate, charged on MSNBC that Obama is the one "trying to make class warfare a divider."

McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment executive, may be the first Senate GOP candidate to distance herself from Romney. She made headlines in 2010 when she sank $50 million of her own money in a losing Senate bid. McMahon is running this year against Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy.

When she announced her second Senate bid last September, McMahon referenced the 47% figure in comments to WTNH-TV when asked about Obama's plans to boost taxes on the wealthy.

"I'd like to see everyone pay their fair share," McMahon told the TV station then. "Forty-seven percent of the people today don't pay any taxes, so let's have a fair tax code where everybody pays their taxes."

McMahon's comments on Romney were first reported by The Hartford Courant. Murphy spokesman Eli Zupnick dismissed McMahon's statement as "campaign spin."