New England

Former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon currently leads former congressman Chris Shays in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Connecticut, according to a new poll released this week. The poll, commissioned by the McMahon campaign, finds that McMahon is ahead of Shays by 21 points, 53 percent to 32 percent, with 15 percent of voters undecided. McMahon and Shays are both vying for the seat being vacated by independent Democrat Joseph Lieberman, who is retiring after four terms in the Senate.

McMahon first ran for Senate in 2010, losing to Democrat Richard Blumenthal by nearly 12 points. Shays served in the House of Representatives for Connecticut's Fourth District from 1987 until 2009, after losing reelection in 2008. The Republican nominee will face the eventual Democratic nominee, either Susan Bysiewicz, the former Connecticut secretary of state, or congressman Chris Murphy. The primary will be held on August 14.