Hartford, Conn. – Sen. Joe Lieberman was defeated in a stunning primary upset Tuesday as Democrats rejected his support of the Iraq war and cordial embrace of President Bush.
Ned Lamont, 52, a wealthy Greenwich cable-television entrepreneur who became the unlikely champion of a potent anti-war movement, celebrated his victory in a Meriden hotel filled with supporters who ran the gamut from a former state party chairman to a new brand of activist: Internet bloggers.
“We’ve got almost 30,000 new Democrats registered, a lot of them in the last few weeks alone,” Lamont said shortly before the polls closed.
“I think that means we’ve got a lot of folks who are getting engaged, involved – and know this race is making a difference.”
Lamont won with 52 percent of the vote, or 144,005, to 48 percent for Lieberman, with 134,026, with 98 percent of precincts reporting.
Lieberman said he intended to file papers to run as an independent in the November general election, setting up a three-way contest.
Lieberman faces potentially substantial hurdles in his independent candidacy, despite a poll taken early in the summer showing him easily winning a three-way race. He is likely to face a party united in opposition to his candidacy.
Lieberman hopes to attract moderate independents and many Republicans while holding on to at least part of his Democratic support.
Fellow moderate Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., has said he will support Lieberman’s candidacy as an independent.
Lieberman’s loss of the Democratic nomination ended a three-decade career inside the party that started with his first election win in 1970 and culminated six years ago to the day when Al Gore chose him as the party’s 2000 vice-presidential candidate. He ran for president on his own in 2004 but failed to win a primary.
The primary clash was watched nationwide for signs of how strong the anti-war movement has grown in the Democratic Party, how that might shape the 2006 election for control of Congress and how it could affect Democrats eyeing the 2008 presidential campaign.
“The way voters responded in Connecticut is a real bellwether for the fall elections,” said Tom Matzzie, Washington director for the liberal group Moveon.org Political Action, which worked to defeat Lieberman.
“Voters want change and leaders who will stand up for ending the war. The lesson is, you get too close to President Bush, you get burned,” Matzzie said.
Lieberman often was at odds with his party or some of its constituencies. He supported school vouchers, driving teachers unions to oppose him and help Lamont.
Even worse, he was caught on camera being hugged and perhaps kissed on the cheek by Bush at a State of the Union address.
Staff writer Anne C. Mulkern and the Hartford Courant contributed to this report.
