McMahon up to $14M of self-funding in Conn. Senate race

Linda McMahon is well on her way to spending $30-50 million on the Connecticut Senate race.

The Republican former WWE CEO's campaign announced Thursday that she self-funded another $8 million in the first quarter, bringing her total out-of-pocket expenses to $14 million. She raised $37,000 and had $4.3 million cash on hand for her GOP primary bid in the race to replace retiring Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

McMahon has previously said she could spend $30 or $50 million on the race.

The likely Democratic nominee, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, previously announced that he raised $1.9 million and banked $1.6 million in his first quarter as a candidate. Blumenthal took over for Dodd when Dodd announce he would not seek reelection earlier this year.

McMahon's GOP primary opponents, former Rep. Rob Simmons and investment banker Peter Schiff, have yet to announce their first-quarter totals.

UPDATE 2:15 p.m.: Simmons's campaign says (buried in a memo) that it raised $550,000 and has $1.4 million in the bank. It's Simmons's worst full quarter of the cycle, and his campaign blames the lower profile the race has taken on since Dodd's retirement.