Lieberman pulls out victory after primary defeat in Connecticut Senate race
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. --Senator Joseph Lieberman avenged his August primary loss to anti-war challenger Ned Lamont, winning a fourth term yesterday in the US Senate only three months after losing the support of the Democratic Party, according to projections.
Running as an independent candidate, Lieberman scored support from independent and Republican voters as he bested Lamont, a wealthy Greenwich businessman with little political experience who poured millions of his own fortune into an insurgent campaign that captured the Democratic nomination in August.
The Associated Press and CNN both declared Lieberman the winner.
Connecticut voters also ousted Republican U.S. Representative Nancy L. Johnson, who had represented her district for 12 terms. Johnson, 71, the longest serving representative in Congress in state history, lost to 33-year-old anti-war Democrat Chris Murphy. Two other closely fought US House races remain too close to call.
Lieberman's initial defeat stunned political observers, and Lamont's success -- fueled by liberal bloggers and other antiwar groups -- was seen by many as a referendum on the Democratic Party's stance on the Iraq war.
But Lamont's momentum seemed to stall after Labor Day, and a poll released Monday showed Lieberman leading by 12 percentage points.
Howard Reiter, head of the political science department at the University of Connecticut, said Lamont's post-primary campaign allowed Lieberman to shape the debate.
"To use an analogy that [Lamont] wouldn't be happy about, it's kind of like the Iraq war," Reiter said. "They plan for the invasion very well, but didn't look too closely at what was going to come afterward."
Ken Dautrich, former director of the University of Connecticut's poll, said that Lamont had difficulty articulating his political views beyond the war.
"Lamont lost focus on the war, which is what got him the Democratic nomination to begin with, and Lieberman was very effectively able to convince voters {hellip} that he is above partisan politics, that he votes on the basis of his conscience," Dautrich said.
Two other Republican Congressmen, Christopher Shays and Rob Simmons, were also caught in neck-and-neck races against Democratic challengers. They were banking that their centrist views and familiarity with voters could withstand an anti-incumbent insurgency that one analyst labeled "a sweeping desire for change among Connecticut voters."
In the Fourth District, Shays, a 10-term incumbent and highly respected Republican known for his work on campaign-finance reform, faced a strong challenge from Diane Farrell, a former Westport first selectwoman. Farrell has capitalized on increasing voter anger over the Bush administration, attacking Shays for supporting the war in Iraq.
Simmons was running in a dead heat with Democratic challenger Joe Courtney in the Second District. 