By If there were any doubts that the tone of the Connecticut Senate race has become one of the most negative in the country, a glance at either side's abusive and sometimes wacky campaign ads should clear them up.
Republican nominee Linda McMahon's personal fortune has played a key role in turning the blue state into a Senate toss-up. It has allowed her to inundate voters' mailboxes and television sets with aggressive ads at a level that Democratic candidate and three-term congressman Chris Murphy has only recently been able to match thanks to contributions from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
But the push-back may be paying off for Murphy: A Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday morning shows Murphy ahead at 49 percent and McMahon at 43 percent, a 7-point swing from three weeks ago, when McMahon had a slight edge.
Take a look at some of the more outrageous ads seen over the course of the race:
After being hit by Murphy's charges of shadiness, McMahon ratchets up her portrayal of Murphy as a corrupt deadbeat:
Murphy hits back by casting McMahon as a friend of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and an enemy of Social Security:
McMahon hurls another jab at Murphy's 2008 home loan—and another empty chair makes an appearance this election season, as McMahon attacks her opponent's record of attendance in Congress:
And finally, perhaps the most derisive of the lot, McMahon takes aim at Murphy's campaign donors (a few of which she actually shares):
