Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman has announced that he will run for the Senate as an Independent if he fails to win the Democratic primary on August 8. Lieberman is facing increasing stiff opposition from within his own party as a result of his support of President Bush's war in Iraq.
'While I believe that I will win the August 8 primary, I know there are no guarantees in elections,' Lieberman told reporters Monday. 'No one really knows how many Democrats will come out to vote on what may be a hot day in August.'
Lieberman added that he would remain affiliated with the Democratic Party if re-elected, regardless of whether he runs as an Independent or with his party's nomination.
'I want the opportunity to put my case before all the people of Connecticut in November,' Lieberman said.
The three-term Senator and former Democratic vice presidential candidate is being challenged for the Democratic nomination by Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont. Lamont is the owner of a cable television company with little political experience but lots of money to spend. Lamont has already put more than $1.5 million of his own money into his campaign. In his speeches, Lamont has accused Lieberman of being a 'Republican lapdog' and of straying from the roots of the Democratic Party.
Early polls indicate Lieberman well ahead of Lamont but the challenger is gaining on the incumbent. A recent Quinnipiac University poll shows that if Lieberman ran as an Independent, he would win with 56 percent of the vote, compared with 18 percent for Lamont and 8 percent for Republican Alan Schlesinger.
Lieberman needs to collect 7,500 signatures by August 9 to get his name on the ballot as an Independent. In politics, Lieberman feels its better safe than sorry.
