Lamont Confident He Can Broaden Base

(AP)  Despite a new poll that shows him trailing Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont says he is confident he can broaden his base to draw support from moderate, independent and Republican voters.

Lamont, who defeated Lieberman in last week's Democratic primary, was trailing the 18-year incumbent in a new Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday.

The poll showed Lieberman, who is running as an independent, leading Lamont 53 percent to 41 percent among likely voters in a three-way race in November. Republican Alan Schlesinger gets 4 percent.

Lamont, who was joined Thursday on the campaign trail by former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, said he thought the poll was "pretty good." He said the first poll taken during the primary race showed him 50 percentage points behind Lieberman, yet he still closed the gap to win that election.

"I've been focusing on the Democratic primary," he said. "But I think we've got a message that's going to do pretty well with moderates, independents and Republicans."

Though Lamont has gained ground, the poll found only 23 percent of registered voters have a favorable opinion of him. Twenty-eight percent have an unfavorable opinion and 25 percent are mixed.

Meanwhile, 43 percent view U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, now running as an independent, favorably. Twenty-eight percent view Lieberman unfavorably, and 25 percent have mixed opinions.

"Lamont needs to be concerned because he has actually negative favorability right now statewide," said Quinnipiac Poll Director Douglas Schwartz. "He's popular among Democrats, but he's not doing well among Republicans and independents."

The poll found Lieberman leads Lamont among registered voters as well. Lieberman would garner 49 percent compared with Lamont's 38 percent, with Schlesinger getting 4 percent.

That's an improvement for Lamont, who trailed Lieberman 51 to 27 percent in a three-way race in a July 20 Quinnipiac poll. That survey of registered voters showed Schlesinger with 9 percent.

Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee said Thursday that it does not intend to help Schlesinger financially.

"It's not a competitive situation at this point. We'll use our resources elsewhere," said Brian Nick, a committee spokesman, although he also added that the committee has "no intention of helping Lieberman."

Schlesinger said the poll's timing does not reflect his true level of support.

"This was taken immediately after the Democratic primary, and therefore there was a tidal wave of publicity for Lamont and Lieberman," Schlesinger said Thursday. "When people get to see me in debate and see the message I have for moderate and conservative voters, these numbers will change dramatically."

Also Thursday, Nancy DiNardo, chairwoman of the Connecticut Democratic Party, called on Lieberman to drop his independent bid. She added that Lieberman "respectfully declined" her request.

"It is my strong belief that Senator Lieberman should abide by the wishes of state party members and by the democratic process," DiNardo said in a statement.

Schwartz said the new poll contains more good news for Lieberman than Lamont.

Lamont "did make some progress. He did gain on Lieberman, but I think the more important news is that Lieberman still has a double-digit lead," said Schwartz, adding that Lamont had just come off a month of good news coverage and a stunning primary victory in which he won 52 percent of the vote to Lieberman's 48 percent.

"There is still time for Lamont to make this up," Schwartz said. "Lamont has to figure out a way to peel some of those soft supporters away from Lieberman."

Lieberman, a nationally known centrist who has been criticized by many Democrats for supporting the war in Iraq and a perceived closeness to President Bush, lost the primary by 10,000 votes. Political pundits say the primary was evidence of voters' frustration with the war and predict it could have national political ramifications.

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[myproperty]

The race for Lieberman's seat in The United States Senate is not about Connecticut constituents, nor is it about the seriouis issues facing our country, nor is it about the conflict in Iraq, nor is it about the Blessings of Liberty that we are so fortunate to be heirs to. The independant run by Joe Leiberman for the seat he now occupies as a Democrat(?) is about Joe Lieberman's ego. He has decided to toss out decades of so-calledd allegence to his party, and eighteen years of service to his country for renegade pride. He has decided to put everything aside that is meaningful and fight for his own personal interests...welcome to modern politics.

[bluestarfath]

Senator Lieberman has once again proven that he doesn%u2019t care about the wishes of his constituents, first by voting for the Iraq war and supporting President Bush, and now by refusing to hear their clear voice that they do not want him to represent them in Washington by his loss in the Primary Election. Senator Lieberman has been eating from the Public Financial trough for so long he doesn't know how to get a job outside of politics. So he is going to do his best to get to Washington somehow. Maybe in some cabinet position on the Bush Staff%u2026