The 2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman won his fourth and final term in the Senate, under the Connecticut for Lieberman party banner. Lieberman originally ran as a Democrat, but lost the August 8 Democratic primary to former Greenwich selectman, businessman, and future Connecticut governor Ned Lamont. Lieberman had been seen as vulnerable to a primary challenge due to his hawkish views on foreign policy, particularly his support for the Iraq War, and Lamont ran as an antiwar challenger, receiving support from the left of the party. The Republicans nominated Alan Schlesinger, the former mayor of Derby, whose campaign was marred by allegations of inappropriate gambling activities.
After losing the primary, Lieberman ran as a third-party candidate with the newly formed Connecticut for Lieberman party. He was not a member of this party, remaining a registered Democrat throughout the campaign. Most polls had Lieberman defeating Lamont. Lieberman raised more than double what Lamont did during the campaign, and won the general election. He continued to caucus with the Democrats, and was listed in the Senate records as an Independent Democrat. Lamont ran for governor in 2010, losing in the primary to eventual two-term governor Dannel Malloy. He ran again in 2018, winning both the primary election and the general election, and was re-elected in 2022.
Democratic primary The primary elections were held on August 8. The Democratic Party primary pitted Lieberman against Lamont.
Candidates Joe Lieberman, incumbent U.S. Senator and Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000 Ned Lamont, former Greenwich selectman
Campaign Because Connecticut was believed to be a Democratic stronghold, political analysts considered its Senate seat safe to remain Democratic,CQPolitics Sabato's Crystal Ball but Lieberman's continued support for conservative and Bush administration policies made him vulnerable to a Democratic primary challenger. Lieberman was criticized for a lack of commitment to the Democratic Party, opposition to affirmative action; his opposition to a Connecticut state law that would require Catholic hospitals to provide emergency contraception to rape victims,Yale Daily News - Activists clash over proposed 'Plan B' bill his membership in the bipartisan Gang of 14,connecticutchoicevoice.com his support of Florida Governor Jeb Bush's involvement in the Terri Schiavo case,Florida Baptist Witness: Publishing Good News since 1884 his initial willingness to compromise on Social Security privatization, alliances with Republicans;Swing State Project and his attacks on other Democrats.Nebraska Democratic Party: What Lieberman Can Learn From Ben Nelson
On March 13, 2006, Lamont announced his candidacy. He was more liberal than Lieberman, but he was not immune to criticism from within his party. The New Republic senior editor and "liberal hawk" Jonathan Chait, who was critical of Lieberman on a variety of issues, wrote:
I can't quite root for Lieberman to lose his primary. What's holding me back is that the anti-Lieberman campaign has come to stand for much more than Lieberman's sins. It's a test of strength for the new breed of left-wing activists who are flexing their muscles within the party. These are exactly the sorts of fanatics who tore the party apart in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They think in simple slogans and refuse to tolerate any ideological dissent.
Early polling showed Lieberman with as much as a 46-point lead, but subsequent polls showed Lamont gaining until he took the lead just weeks before the primary. A controversy about a "kiss" Lieberman supposedly received from Bush during the 2005 State of the Union address highlighted concerns that he was too close to Bush to be a credible Democratic nominee."Lieberman Hopes His Fate Isn’t Sealed With a Kiss." New York Times. July 16, 2006. Retrieved 2017-05-18. Lieberman released several campaign advertisements over the summer seeking to connect himself to former President Bill Clinton and to portray Lamont as standing for little more than opposition to Lieberman. Lamont struck back with an ad produced by political consultant Bill Hillsman, in which a narrator says, "Meet Ned Lamont. He can't make a decent cup of coffee, he's a bad karaoke singer, and he has a messy desk." Lamont then chimes in, "Aren't you sick of political attack ads that insult your intelligence? Senator Lieberman, let's stick to issues and pledge to support whoever wins the Democratic primary."
From mid-morning August 7 to well past August 9, Lieberman's official campaign site was taken offline; officials from Lieberman's campaign claimed "dirty politics" and "Rovian tactics" by Lamont's supporters, and more specifically, a sustained Distributed Denial of Service attack that, according to the Lieberman campaign, had left the site down for several days.
Tim Tagaris, Lamont's Internet communications director, denied the charge and attributed the downtime to the fact that the Lieberman campaign had chosen an inferior web host, or ISP, paying $15/month to operate its site (as opposed to the $1,500/month the Lamont campaign spent).Topic Galleries - Courant.com "Daily Kos: CT-Sen: Here is the filing for web hosting ". Dailykos.com.Joe Lieberman: Lieberman Campaign's Website Woes Own Damn Fault On December 20, 2006, a joint investigation by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's office and the U.S. attorney's office cleared the Lamont campaign of the hacking accusations. A spokesman for Kevin O'Connor, the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, said, "The investigation has revealed no evidence the problems the website experienced were the result of criminal conduct."
Lieberman was backed by the Human Rights Campaign, the United States Chamber of Commerce, the Defenders of Wildlife, and Planned Parenthood; he was endorsed by The Hartford Courant, The New Haven Register, and the Connecticut Post. Lamont was backed by the National Organization for Women, MoveOn.org, and Democracy for America; he was endorsed by The New York Times. Lamont won the primary with 51.79% of the vote to Lieberman's 48.21%. In his concession speech, Lieberman announced that he would keep his promise to run as an independent if he lost the Democratic primary. In the Republican primary, Alan Schlesinger drew fire in July when it was revealed that he had been gambling under an alias in order to avoid detection as a card counter. Schlesinger remained in the race despite calls to withdraw, ultimately becoming the Republican nominee when no other candidates entered the race.
Fundraising Campaign finance reports as of July 19, 2006CandidateRaisedSpentCash on handJoe Lieberman (D)$8,730,280$6,662,499$3,487,184Ned Lamont (D)$4,171,447$3,758,517$414,284Source: Federal Election Commission
Debate On July 6, 2006, Lamont and Lieberman met in a televised debate held by a Connecticut NBC-TV affiliate and carried live nationally by C-SPAN. Journalists in the studio asked questions, with several videotaped questions by voters also included. The debate largely centered on the Iraq war and the candidates' records and experience.
Convention In order to force Lieberman into a primary, Lamont needed to get the support of at least 15% of the total delegates at the Democratic convention. He would end up easily doing so.
Results
General election
Candidates
Ned Lamont (D): On August 8, Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont received 52% of the vote in the Democratic primary for one of Connecticut's seats in the United States Senate, defeating incumbent Senator Joe Lieberman, who ran in the November election as a petitioning candidate of the Connecticut for Lieberman party line. To get on the primary ballot on May 19, 2006, Lamont received 33% of the vote at the Democratic State Convention, well above the 15% threshold needed to appear on the ballot without having to collect signatures. Sean Smith, Lieberman's campaign manager at the time, dismissed his performance, claiming that many delegates at the convention saw the endorsement question as a "free vote" to "register displeasure with Lieberman without it costing them anything", and speculated that they would return to Lieberman in the primary. Lieberman dismissed Smith as his campaign manager the morning after his primary defeat on August 8. Lamont differed from Lieberman on various issues. He opposed the Iraq War and the USA Patriot Act, opposed the creditor-friendly changes to U.S. bankruptcy law, opposed federal intervention in cases such as the Terri Schiavo case, opposed the federal earmark system, and said he would have been much more aggressive than Lieberman against the Samuel Alito nomination. Alan Schlesinger (R): On May 20, 2006, Connecticut Republicans nominated former Derby Mayor Alan Schlesinger. In July, it was revealed that he was involved in inappropriate gambling activities: he gambled under the alias "Alan Gold" to avoid detection as a card counter. On July 21, the Hartford Courant reported that Schlesinger had been sued by two New Jersey casinos for gambling debts. He quickly faced flak from state party officials and some, including Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell, called on him to withdraw. Connecticut GOP chairman George Gallo had considered previous Republican Senate candidate Jack Orchulli as a possible replacement if Schlesinger had withdrawn. On July 24, Courant columnist Kevin Rennie suggested former State Senator Bill Aniskovich of Branford—who was defeated in 2004 while seeking his eighth term—would replace Schlesinger if he withdrew. Other possible replacements included U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor, State Senator John McKinney of Fairfield and Derby state representative Themis Klarides.
Joe Lieberman (I), the incumbent three-term senator, was running for his fourth term. Lieberman was Al Gore's vice presidential running mate in the 2000 election. Gore lost the election to George W. Bush. After a heated primary, Lieberman lost to Lamont, 52% to 48%. Soon after his defeat, his campaign submitted the required signatures to run under the new Connecticut for Lieberman Party. While many of his Democratic colleagues tried to convince him not to run, he stood firm. The day after losing in the primary, Lieberman fired most of his campaign staff, including his campaign manager. Ralph Ferrucci (G): Connecticut Green Party nominee, artist, truck driver, 2004 congressional candidate, and 2003 "Guilty Party" New Haven mayoral candidate. Ferrucci received more than 15% of the vote when he challenged New Haven mayor John DeStefano Jr. in 2003. He had the least amount of money on hand of all the candidates and claimed to be the only candidate to publicly state his disapproval over Israel's invasion of Lebanon. Timothy Knibbs (CC) ran as the nominee of the Concerned Citizens Party. He also ran for the state's other senate seat in 2004.
Campaign
Connecticut for Lieberman party
On June 12, Lamont began running radio ads promising if he lost the primary to endorse Lieberman and challenging Lieberman to make a similar pledge. Lieberman refused; his campaign manager, Sean Smith said, "Are we going to support Ned Lamont? Uh, no!" On July 3 in Hartford, Lieberman announced that he would collect signatures to guarantee himself a position on the November ballot. Lieberman and Smith said that Lieberman would run as a "petitioning Democrat" and caucus with Senate Democrats if elected. On July 10, the Lieberman campaign officially filed paperwork allowing him to collect signatures to form a new political party, the Connecticut for Lieberman party.