Last Election
In the last election, running for an open seat, Senator Blumenthal defeated his Republican challenger Linda McMahon by a margin of 55% to 43%.
In this race Blumenthal was outspent by a margin of $50 million to $9 million. A lot of McMahon's campaign finances came from her own personal fortune. Her husband is Vince McMahon, owner of WWE, and is worth $1.2 billion dollars. In her past two senate races, Linda McMahon has spent over $100 million of her own money on the campaigns, setting a new record for using personal fiances on campaigns.
Even with the massive difference in fundraising, Blumenthal commanded a large lead over McMahon until a scandal broke that Blumenthal may have lied about serving in Vietnam. This caused his lead to shrink 14 points in the polls, but he was able to weather the storm and win the election.
2016 Primary Election Outlook
At this time, ballotpedia does not list anyone challenging Blumenthal in the primary. Govtrack.us rates Blumenthal's bills introduced and co-sponsored as the 6th most progressive in the Senate. His progressive stance would make it difficult for a primary challenger to unseat him.
2016 General Election Outlook
Senator Blumenthal's 2016 election out look is very strong. PublicPolicy has his approval ratings at +22, second highest for Senators up for reelection, behind only Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Redstate.com, a conservative news source, does not think any Republican challenger stands a chance. They rate the likelihood of a Republican victory at 3%. This is considered a very safe Democrat seat.
Campaign Finance Status
Given the safe nature of his seat, Blumenthal has fund-raised well below the Senate average according to opensecrets. Blumenthal does have personal wealth to draw upon if needed, he is the 8th wealthiest member of Congress according to rollcall, with a net worth of $52.93 million.
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