Lieberman loses primary

HARTFORD, Conn. — Anti-war challenger Ned Lamont defeated three-term incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman in yesterday’s Democratic primary here after a campaign that turned into a referendum on the Iraq war and President Bush.

Mr. Lieberman, who just six years ago was his party’s vice-presidential nominee, called Mr. Lamont shortly before 11 p.m. to concede. But standing before supporters moments later at the Goodwin Hotel, he conceded nothing as he vowed to file papers this morning with the Connecticut secretary of state to run as an independent.

“We just finished the first half, and the Lamont team is ahead,” he said in possibly the most upbeat concession speech in recent American politics. “But in the second half, our team — Team Connecticut — is going to surge ahead.”

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Lamont had 144,005 votes to Mr. Lieberman’s 134,026 — a lead of 52 percent to 48 percent.

At the Lamont victory party, the candidate was flanked by prominent liberals such as the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and lamented the ratio of lobbyists to lawmakers in Washington. But Mr. Lamont sent his supporters into their greatest frenzy when he mentioned his lead issue — ending U.S. involvement in Iraq.

“We have 132,000 heroes stuck” in a civil war in Iraq, he said. “I say it’s high time to bring them home.”

With that the crowd began chanting repeatedly: “Bring them home. Bring them home.”

Mr. Lieberman was not the only incumbent Democrat to lose last night. Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney of Georgia lost the primary runoff in her solidly Democratic district to former DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson.

But all eyes in Connecticut immediately turned to the general election in which Mr. Lieberman promised to run as an independent, against Mr. Lamont and Republican Alan Schlesinger.

Supporters at the Goodwin Hotel last night were elated that Mr. Lieberman would still be on November’s ballot and predicted that he would win easily after picking up all the independents and Republicans who could not vote in yesterday’s primary.

Still, it is expected that starting this morning, Mr. Lieberman will come under intense pressure from national Democrats to get out of the race so the party can rally around it’s nominee.

But Mr. Lieberman made it clear last night that he took personally the campaign — and the attacks of “insults instead of ideas.”

“I am disappointed not just because I lost but because the old politics of partisan polarization won the day,” he said. “For the sake of our state, our country and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand.”

“I will continue to offer Connecticut a different path forward” he said.

With the defeat, Mr. Lieberman became just the fourth sitting senator to lose a primary election since 1980.

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