Ned Lamont
Lamont Riding Momentum
Peter Urban
Connecticut Post
Greenwich multimillionaire Ned Lamont, a political neophyte who was written off early by pundits, heads into Connecticut's Democratic primary Tuesday favored to defeat three-term incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman.
The latest Quinnipiac University Poll, released Thursday, showed Lamont with a 13-point lead over Lieberman among likely Democratic voters — a lead that once seemed unthinkable. "It is a great credit to the Lamont campaign to come from nowhere to be 13 points ahead," said Scott McLean, a professor of politics at Quinnipiac University in Hamden. "It is kind of amazing. I did not expect him to be that far ahead."
The poll showed Lamont with a 54-to-41 advantage among likely Democratic voters in the primary. A similar survey on July 20 showed Lamont with just a slight advantage. Lamont, 52, entered the race largely out of frustration with Lieberman, a Democrat whom he had supported in the past, but who he felt no longer represented the views of most Connecticut residents.
Lieberman, he charges, has become a mouthpiece for the Bush administration's foreign policy agenda by supporting the Iraq war and chastising Democrats who voiced concerns about its failures.
Lamont opposes the war and advocates a military withdrawal. He says the money being spent in Iraq could be put to better use providing health care to all Americans. Lamont has spent about $3 million of his own money to fund his campaign; much of that has gone to television advertisements.
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Lamont Ads Question Value of Lieberman’s Years in Office
Nicholas Confessore
NYT, August 6, 2006
GOSHEN, Conn., Aug. 5 — Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont released new radio ads on Saturday intended to dispel any concerns that he lacks enough political experience to replace the incumbent, Joseph I. Lieberman, even as a new poll showed Mr. Lamont continuing to run ahead of Mr. Lieberman just days from the Democratic primary.
“I think what we’re trying to say is that being a lifelong politician isn’t the best or the only experience you need to serve your country,” Mr. Lamont said at a campaign stop here, where he visited the Litchfield Jazz Festival.
In the advertisement, Mr. Lamont says that “experience can be a wonderful teacher” and describes how his experience as a businessman taught him how to create jobs and convinced him of the need for universal health care.
“But most of all,” he says, “experience has taught me not to be afraid. That’s what Connecticut needs right now. That’s what America needs right now. If Joe Lieberman is not willing to challenge President Bush and Vice President Cheney, I will.”
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