Linda McMahon, a former president and CEO of WWE, failed in her bid for a Senate seat in Connecticut, losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy on Tuesday. This comes on the heels of her 2010 loss to Richard Blumenthal in the race for the state’s other seat in the Senate.

Total cost to lose two elections: Around $97 million.

McMahon, a Republican, spent $50 million of her personal fortune in her failed 2010 campaign, and is believed to have spent approximately $47 million this time around. That’s the most that any candidate has ever spent from their own pocket to win federal office.

McMahon drew the ire of some Republicans when she began running TV ads last week featuring voters for President Obama who said they would vote for her too. Her campaign also distributed fliers urging voters to pick Obama for president and then vote for her.


Those moves would seem to end any chances of her running again in the future, as it seems unlikely the Republican Party would throw its support behind someone who advised people to vote for Obama.

It seems she took a page from the pro wrestling playbook, turning heel against the Republicans in order to further her own ambitions. Or, if you prefer, she did a riff on the classic “Million Dollar Man” character, spending $97 million to win the big prize.

Of course, she should have realized that never worked for the “Million Dollar Man,” who spent a lot of money but never won the WWE title.

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