Lieberman gets nod, but Lamont wins spot on primary ballot

[Nutmegger]

Connecticut Democrats, as expected, gave U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman their nod for a fourth term Friday, but his challenger, Greenwich cable executive Edward M. "Ned" Lamont, won more than enough votes to force a primary election in August and vowed to continue his underdog campaign. "Why would I pull out?" Lamont asked, adding that he was prepared to double the approximately $470,000 he had already spent from his personal fortune on a primary campaign.

With a total of 1,509 votes cast, Lieberman won 1,004 to Lamont's 505.
That meant Lamont took 33 percent, more than twice the number his campaign director predicted before the balloting and an especially strong showing against a three-term incumbent who has enjoyed remarkably high ratings in the polls.
Sean Smith, Lieberman's campaign manager, protested after the balloting that Lamont had won roughly the same number of delegates he had been "saying all week" and stressed that the party had still gone "two-to-one" for the senator.
Smith also said the convention was "Ned's best room" and charged that Lamont had "pumped a half-million dollars" in an unsuccessful bid to purchase the nomination.

A smiling Lamont said minutes after the vote that his showing was better than expected, and, quoting his campaign manager, that it amounted to "a downpayment on ending the war" in Iraq.

Party leaders maneuvered so that the much awaited endorsement vote, thought by many to be the first real test of the strength of Lamont's candidacy among the most committed of Democrats, came before a potentially divisive ballot on the party platform and, in particular, on the party's official position on the war in Iraq.

Full Article: http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16667067&BRD=985&PAG=461&dept_id=161556&rfi=6

HA! :)

[NewJeffCT]

1. Good job Ned - should be an interesting summer

I'm glad to see that Lieberman will have to actually work this summer.

[ihelpu2see]

2. There is a lot of support for Lamont here in Northern Hartford County!!

[JerseygirlCT]

4. I've been noticing bumperstickers and lawn signs -

especially been seeing the signs all over West Hartford. (Guess that's not a big surprise though, right?)

[wordpix2]

3. A delegate told me Lamont would have gotten more votes if there had been

secret balloting. As it was, some people voted for Joe because the ballot wasn't secret.

In my Litchfield County town, we had a straw vote among our town comm. members and it came out 11 for Lieberbush, 8 for Lamont. That's a pretty good show for Lamont in a town that is quite conservative and defnitely not "progressive."

[bigwillq]

5. This is very good news.

I was very happy for Ned and very impressed with the results. :bounce: