Yet another Connecticut Republican has launched a television advertisement for a primary that's 10 months away -- a move that underscores how competitive and expensive the contest to oust Sen. Christopher J. Dodd has become.

Former Ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley hit the airwaves Tuesday with his second ad.

He follows fellow Republican and former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon, who went up on the airwaves in September and again last week for just one day, while President Obama was in Connecticut to raise money for Dodd.

Former Rep. Christopher Shays has not endorsed a candidate in the crowded Republican primary for the Connecticut seat he lost to Democrat Jim Himes in 2008. But Shays' wife has a dog in the 4th District fight.

Elizabeth Shays donated $500 to former state Sen. Rob Russo on Sept. 30, the last day of the third-quarter reporting period, according to federal campaign finance information.

While the former congressman, a GOP moderate who served from 1987 until this January, isn't taking sides yet himself, there is a clear connection to Russo. A former aide to Shays, Russo also currently is his lawyer.

Linda McMahon's background as a pro wrestling impresario has prompted any number of jokes since last week when she launched her bid for the Republican Senate nomination in Connecticut. But it took mere days -- and a big-money campaign ad run -- to show that the first-time Republican candidate is dead serious about trying to unseat Democratic incumbent Christopher J. Dodd.

McMahon dipped into the wealth she has amassed as CEO of publicly-traded World Wrestling Entertainment to finance a seven-figure television ad buy. Her campaign has two ads running on network television in the New York City media market -- the nation's biggest and most expensive -- and across Connecticut for the next seven days.

McMahon's campaign also launched an introductory radio spot yesterday to air statewide for one week; took out full-page ads in local newspapers; sent out mailers; and has Web ads up targeting Connecticut voters.

Linda McMahon, the chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment, announced Wednesday that she has joined the contest for the 2010 Republican Senate nomination in Connecticut.

Her entry adds a good deal of personal wealth -- and perhaps a bit of her sports marketing firm's trademark theatrical flair -- to the already crowded field of Republicans seeking to challenge Democratic Sen. Christopher J. Dodd. Suffering from a job approval slump tied to questions about his oversight of the financial industry as chairman of the Banking Committee, Dodd is more vulnerable than at any previous point in his Senate career.

McMahon, who stepped down from her CEO post to run, released a statement Wednesday touting her business experience as a key qualification for the seat. "I have spent the past 30 years growing what began as a 13-employee small business into a publicly traded, global entertainment company," she said. "I understand what it takes to balance a budget, create jobs and grow the economy."

She has run the company with her husband, Vince McMahon, a showman who long has been the public face of pro wrestling and its flamboyant mixture of sports and theater.

Republicans' hopes of ousting freshman Democrat Jim Himes in Connecticut's 4th District suffered a serious blow, as heavily recruited GOP state legislator John McKinney has taken himself out of the running.

McKinney, the state Senate minority leader and son of a former 4th District representative, told the Greenwich Time for a story published Wednesday that his decision was based on family considerations.

"It is definitely my intention to run for re-election to the state Senate," McKinney said. "The course I'm choosing right now gives me the opportunity to do something I love, which is to help others; be a public servant; help the people of the state of Connecticut; and at the same time it allows me to stay at home and be the father I want to be for my kids."

Duncan Hunter, a retired Republican who once chaired the Armed Services Committee, has decided that Iraq War veterans are the perfect candidates to revive the Republican Party in 2010.

Hunter -- a Vietnam War vet who briefly sought the 2008 Republican presidential nomination -- is already backing two such candidates as they launch challenges to two of the more junior members of the House Democratic majority: Jesse Kelly, who wants to take on two-term incumbent Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona's 8th District, and Vaughn Ward, whose target in Idaho's 1st District is freshman Democrat Walt Minnick.

Hunter will be attending a series of brunches, receptions and a golf outing in Tucson this weekend with Kelly, who said Hunter is a big attraction in conservative circles in his district in Arizona's southeastern corner. "He did very well in early presidential polls down here," Kelly noted, referring to Hunter's 2008 bid.

During much of his House career, Hunter represented a California district that stretched from San Diego east to the border of Kelly's home state of Arizona, though for the past decade the 52nd District has been confined to San Diego County in California's southwest corner.

Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd's first television ad of the 2010 cycle went live Friday, but it is President Obama, rather than the embattled five-term senator, who is the star of the 30-second spot.

Hoping to capitalize on a "shout-out" the popular president gave Dodd for his work on an overhaul of credit card companies' practices (PL 111-24), the ad features images from the bill's signing ceremony and audio of Obama talking about the "common-sense reform" it enacted.

Dodd, Obama goes on to say, "has been a relentless fighter to get this done." The ad ends with the claim that the Democrat is "fighting back for us."

Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, who has faced a series of political difficulties, is getting the first official challenger for his 2010 Democratic primary: Merrick Alpert, a former aide to Vice President Al Gore who also has been an Air Force officer and software company executive.

Alpert intends to formally launch his candidacy Tuesday, according to a statement he posted on his Web site over the weekend.

Dodd finds himself at political risk heading into his 2010 campaign: Highly popular through most of his career, his approval ratings among Connecticut voters have dropped sharply over the past year -- because of questions raised about the Senate Banking Committee chairman's ties to the financial industry, though also because many state voters were disgruntled over his brief, failed bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Second-term Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney has a second official Republican challenger -- businesswoman and former State Department official Daria Novak.

Novak, whose campaign statement of organization was posted Wednesday by the Federal Election Commission, confirmed to CQ Politics that she is running, and is planning an official kick-off event around the end of May. The first-time candidate intends to build a "real grass-roots campaign" with a focus on local organizing.

Novak's announcement comes after former Hebron Board of Finance member Matthew M. Daly told local reporters in March that he was running. Republican sources say lawyer and Navy veteran Sean Sullivan, who lost to Courtney, 32 percent to 66 percent in 2008, is mulling another run. And former state Rep. Andrew Norton may also be interested.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd's shaky status in Connecticut hasn't scared away too many donors, it seems.

The five-term Democratic incumbent reported just over $1 million in total receipts in the first three months of 2009, his report to the Federal Election Commission states.

Dodd ended March with $1.4 million in the bank.

Dodd's cash is likely to give him an edge against two Republican challengers, former Rep. Rob Simmons and state Sen. Sam Caligiuri, who both announced they would run for the seat in March.

Recent polls show Dodd trailing both men in hypothetical match-ups, but neither Simmons nor Caligiuri has the name recognition or fundraising clout of Connecticut's senior senator.

Not that anyone needed proof that it's never too early for campaigns to step off the high road, but here's some more. Today's example comes from Connecticut, where positioning for the 2010 Senate race is well underway.

On Thursday the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a web video attacking former Republican Rep. Rob Simmons, who announced last month that he will run to unseat five-term incumbent Democrat Christopher J. Dodd. The add zeroes in on a March 31 Simmons fundraiser that was hosted by several lobbyists.

"Rob Simmons: A special interest Congressman before, a special interest candidate now," the video concludes.

Democratic Sen. Christopher J. Dodd could get another Republican challenger on Tuesday. Republican state Sen. Sam Caligiuri will be making "an important announcement about his future plans with regards to the 2010 United States Senate race," he notified reporters in a release sent out Monday morning.

The announcement will take place at 10 a.m. Tuesday in front of Caligiuri's home in Waterbury, Conn.

Dodd has already attracted one challenger, former Rep. Rob Simmons, who announced March 15 that he would take on the the suddenly vulnerable six-term senator. Dodd's popularity at home has plummeted since last summer, thanks to a series of scandals related to real estate deals and his ties to the financial industry.