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HARTFORD, Conn. - The dust has barely settled on Connecticut's contentious 2010 U.S. Senate race to replace retiring former Sen. Chris Dodd and candidates are already back on the campaign trail, this time gearing up to replace the retiring Sen. Joe Lieberman in 2012.

Several have hired political consultants and pollsters, some with connections to past national campaigns.

Both candidates and potential candidates are making the rounds to local town committees to pitch themselves, reaching out to potential primary voters and seeking political endorsements. They're also making campaign fundraising calls - most recently, working to amass as much money as possible before latest federal fundraising deadline later this month.

Already, Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, who represents the 5th Congressional District, reported raising more than $1 million as of March 31. Another competitor for the Democratic nomination, former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, reported raising more than $500,000.

As with the 2010 Senate race, Connecticut is expected to once again have another hot contest in 2012 for an open Senate seat.

"This race is going to receive some national attention," predicted Jonathan Ducote, the campaign manager for Bysiewicz. "Connecticut is going to be looked at as a place where Democrats can help keep control of the Senate."

And as in 2010, interest in the race could also be generated by the candidates themselves. Republican Linda McMahon, a nationally known former wrestling executive, has yet to announce whether she will run for her party's nomination. She drew a lot of attention because of her business, World Wrestling Entertainment, but also for spending more than $50 million from her personal fortune in the primary and later in her general election campaign against former Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who ultimately won Dodd's Senate seat.

A message was left seeking comment with McMahon. In an interview last November, she told The Associated Press that she planned to meet with her consultants and analyze her 2010 campaign. She said some post-campaign polling was likely to determine what went wrong and what could have been done differently.

When asked if she planned to run in 2012, McMahon said she was "considering a couple different directions" and would make a decision after Jan. 1. She has not returned to the WWE, where she was the CEO until 2009. Instead, she's made various public appearances, given speeches and continued with her work as a member of the Sacred Heart University Board of Trustees. McMahon has a limited liability company, McMahon Ventures, which was first organized in 2009, according to state records.

Last week, Hartford attorney Brian K. Hill, who was a write-in candidate who drew 559 votes for Senate in the 2010 race, announced his candidacy. Hill, who lives in Windsor, owns BKH & Associates, a law firm that specializes in personal injury, criminal defense and business law.

"I'm running because serious times call for a serious candidate; not a candidate of wealth or fame, but a candidate of the people," Hill said in a written statement.