After hard-fought Senate race, Lieberman comes out on top
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Senator Joseph I. Lieberman captured his fourth term in the US Senate yesterday, avenging his August primary loss to antiwar Democratic challenger Ned Lamont. But Nutmeg State anger at the Bush administration helped claim at least one Republican incumbent -- 12-term US Representative Nancy Johnson.
Running as an independent, Lieberman scored support from independent and Republican voters to best Lamont, a wealthy Greenwich businessman with little political experience. Lamont poured millions of his own fortune into an insurgent campaign that won support from prominent Democratic lawmakers, including several of Lieberman's colleagues in the Senate.
In another closely watched race, Democratic challenger Chris Murphy defeated Johnson, 71, who had held her Fifth District seat for nearly a quarter century. Two other US House races in the state remained too close to call , as US Representatives Christopher Shays and Rob Simmons hoped their centrist views and familiarity with voters could withstand an insurgency against incumbents that one analyst labeled "a sweeping desire for change among Connecticut voters."
Lieberman was leading Lamont, 48 percent to 39 percent in preliminary results last night. The Republican Senate nominee, Alan Schlesinger, had received slightly over 10 percent of the vote.
In his acceptance speech, Lieberman said he was "tested like never before" by the mid term election.
"We never wavered on our beliefs or in our purpose," Lieberman told supporters gathered at the Goodwin Hotel in Hartford. "I will go to Washington beholden to no political group, but only to the people of Connecticut and to my conscience." He said his victory represented "progress over partisanship" and "the mainstream over the extremes."
Lamont conceded after 10 p.m., his voice choking at times as teary-eyed relatives stood by his side. "We ignited a spark that is going to change the direction of our country in Iraq and the direction of our country here at home," Lamont told supporters at the Sheraton hotel in Meriden.
Lamont's initial success, fueled by liberal bloggers and other antiwar groups, stunned political observers. But his momentum seemed to stall after Labor Day as he struggled to galvanize the general electorate.
"To use an analogy that [Lamont] wouldn't be happy about, it's kind of like the Iraq war," said Howard Reiter, head of the political science department at the University of Connecticut. "They plan for the invasion very well, but didn't look too closely at what was going to come afterward."
Ken Dautrich, a public policy professor at UConn, 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 . . . that he is above partisan politics, " Dautrich said.
In Connecticut's Fourth House District, Shays, a 10-term incumbent 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 also running in a dead heat with Democratic challenger Joe Courtney in the Second District.
Democratic incumbents Rosa DeLauro and John Larson easily won their House re election bids.
Murphy, a 33-year-old state senator, had strongly criticized Johnson's prescription drug policies. He led Johnson 56 percent to 44 percent in preliminary results.
"This is a unique year, where people have the courage to vote for change," Murphy said after casting his ballot in his hometown of Cheshire yesterday morning.
In her concession speech, Johnson sounded a positive note, telling supporters that she was "proud to have had the privilege of representing you in the US Congress all these years."
Frustration with the Bush administration was a common theme among voters interviewed across the state yesterday.
"People are tired of negativity coming out of the White House," said Jean Garber, 40, a registered nurse and longtime Murphy supporter.
Mary-Ann Drayton-Rogers, a retired postal worker from Oxford, said she voted for Farrell because of the candidate's opposition to the Iraq war.
"We shouldn't have been there in the first place," Drayton-Rogers said, though she noted that Lamont had not captured her Senate vote. "I find Lieberman very credible, very principled, and he stuck with what he believed."
