Three-term Sen. Joe Lieberman fell to anti-Iraq-war challenger Ned Lamont in Connecticut’s Democratic primary Tuesday, a race seen as a harbinger of sentiment over the conflict that has claimed the lives of more than 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq.
Unbowed, Lieberman immediately announced he would enter the fall campaign as an independent. Only six years ago, Lieberman was the Democrats’ choice for vice president.
“As I see it, in this campaign we just finished the first half and the Lamont team is ahead. But, in the second half, our team, Team Connecticut, is going to surge forward to victory in November,” Lieberman said after congratulating Lamont.
Lamont, a millionaire with virtually no political experience, ran on his opposition to the Iraq war. “They call Connecticut the land of steady habits,” he said. “Tonight we voted for a big change.”
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’s loss made him only the fourth incumbent senator to lose a primary since 1980.
Turnout was projected at twice the norm for a primary.
In Georgia, Rep. Cynthia McKinney, the fiery congresswoman known for her conspiracy theories about the Sept. 11 attacks and a scuffle this year with a U.S. Capitol police officer, lost a runoff for the Democratic nomination.
And in Michigan, moderate Republican Rep. Joe Schwarz lost to a conservative in a GOP primary.
The Connecticut Senate race dominated the political landscape, and its outcome promises to echo through the fall. The race was watched closely by liberal, Internet-savvy Democrats who lead the party’s emerging “netroots” movement, groups such as Moveon.org that played a big role in pushing Lamont’s candidacy.
Critics targeted Lieberman for his strong support for the Iraq war and for his close ties to President Bush. They played and replayed video of the kiss President Bush planted on Lieberman’s cheek after the 2005 State of the Union address.
Officials said turnout Tuesday was up to 50 percent, when primaries usually only draw 25 percent of voters. And vote totals showed about 16,000 more ballots cast for the Democratic Senate primary than the party primary for governor, reflecting the extra attention to the Lieberman-Lamont battle.
In the lead up to the primary, 14,000 new Connecticut voters registered as Democrats, while another 14,000 state voters switched their registration from unaffiliated to Democrat to vote in the primary.
Jubilant Lamont supporters predicted victory in November.
“People are going to look back and say the Bush years started to end in Connecticut,” said Avi Green, a volunteer from Boston. “The Republicans are going to look at tonight and realize there’s blood in the water.”
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