GOP leaders defend Conn. Senate candidate’s wrestling exec tenure, dismiss steroid questions

GOP defends Conn. wrestling CEO running for Senate

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Republican Party leaders are defending U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon’s record in Connecticut as CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, saying the controversy surrounding steroid use among wrestlers is an old story.

National party chairman Michael Steele, during a visit to the state Republican headquarters on Thursday, mocked a question about whether McMahon’s ties to Stamford-based WWE, including past controversies over steroid use, could prove embarrassing to the national GOP.

“Wait a minute. … What do we have to do with that?” he asked. “Did she authorize the use of steroids in the WWE?”

State chairman Chris Healy also defended McMahon, saying steroids were “freely used in a lot of places and a lot of times they weren’t illegal.” He said issues surrounding steroids have been “fully vetted,” the WWE had “learned lessons” and started a testing program.

“I think that’s an old story that keeps getting recycled because Dick Blumenthal is scared about losing to Linda McMahon,” Healy said, referring to the Democratic state attorney general endorsed by his party to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd.

Steele repeatedly said he agreed with Healy and told a reporter, “Don’t take me down that rabbit hole about this candidate” when asked further questions.

A 2009 congressional committee investigation into steroid use in professional wrestling, which included interviews with McMahon and her husband, Vince, criticized the WWE for a “lack of independence and transparency.”

A Quinnipiac University Poll from last month showed Blumenthal leading McMahon by 20 percentage points — 55 percent to 35 percent. McMahon, however, still faces a primary with financial expert Peter Schiff, who petitioned his way onto the Aug. 10 Republican ballot. Former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons has also kept his name on the GOP ballot but disbanded his campaign.

The poll found that 43 percent of voters had an unfavorable opinion of professional wrestling. McMahon, who has pledged to spend as much as $50 million of her own money in the race, has touted her business experience throughout the campaign.

When asked about people’s opinions about WWE, which has been criticized for its violent and sometimes sexually explicit programming over the years, Steele accused Democrats of going after McMahon on the wrestling issues because they have nothing new to offer voters.

“Smackdown? She’s going to come and smack it down,” Steele said, referring one of WWE’s popular television programs. “She’s going to be OK. Look, these things will take care of itself.”

Steele laughed when asked about whether WWE’s programming reflected the traditional Republican message of family values.

“Have you gone to a WWE match? There are a lot of families there,” he said.