Politics & Government

Christie Stumps for Linda McMahon in Connecticut

The governor made a late-afternoon visit with wife of WWE founder in Waterbury Monday afternoon.

Making Monday afternoon a three-stop affair to champion Linda McMahon for U.S. Senate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stumped in Connecticut for the Republican Party just two weeks before the election.

McMahon, wife of World Wrestling Entertainment founder Vince McMahon, is facing off against Congressman Chris Murphy in his own bid to change houses. Christie appeared at the Stamford Marriott with McMahon in addition to a speech in Waterbury.

During the Stamford Marriott rally, as reported by Stamford Patch, Christie said McMahon carried titles like "mother," "business-woman" and "leader" because she'd worked hard throughout her life to earn them. He called Murphy a "career politician," who was a lot of promises but little substance and said he might as well be "Nancy Pelosi's butler."

Find out what's happening in Hillsboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"All the titles Congressman Murphy has can be taken away and better be taken away on Nov. 6," Christie said. "I don't know why, if you think that Washington, D.C., is broken ... why the heck would you give one of the people who broke it, a promotion?"

The entire event got started about an hour-and-a-half behind schedule after Christie reportedly got stuck in some traffic on his way to the event—"New Jersey's close to Connecticut ... sometimes in traffic, it's a long trip," he joked at the mic—but McMahon and Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia both addressed those gathered as well.

Find out what's happening in Hillsboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Pavia, who twice had the difficult task of coming up on stage while the audience was informed of the expanding delays, opened the event by thanking Christie for setting the example for all running an election campaign in difficult times and giving his own support to McMahon.

"I think we share the same philosophies and concepts in life," Pavia said. "Working hard, doing the right thing, signing both sides of the paycheck are important themes for what we have to do and that is serving the public."

Christie told supporters to wear their stickers and pins and buttons for McMahon everywhere over the next 14 days to generate conversation and take an hour per day to make phone calls to friends and family on the fence. 

"We've got 14 days left to send a good and decent woman to the United States Senate as your representative here in Connecticut," Christie said. "I do not want to come back to Connecticut welcomed by Chris Murphy. If you make me come back here and Chris Murphy is your United States Senator, I will not be in the fine and pleasant mood I am today. You do not want me to go 'Jersey' on you people. You do not want it to happen. And believe me, Linda has all your names."

Jason Koestenblatt contributed to this article.


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