McMahon spotlights female-owned businesses

McMahon first ran for the Senate in Connecticut in 2010 and invested millions of her own money into the race, winning the Republican primary but losing in the general election to Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). She is running in 2012 for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).

While McMahon has the benefit of broad name recognition and the ability to attract heavy media attention, she was criticized in the 2010 race for outspending other candidates who had less personal wealth to sink into the race.

McMahon announced her 2012 campaign shortly before the end of the third fundraising quarter, which ended Sept. 30. An aide to McMahon said that the campaign did not actively solicit contributions in September, focusing instead of grassroots engagement. The aide said fundraising operations began in earnest in October.