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Victory for Lieberman

Former Democrat wins as an Independent

By Molly Majewicz
Scholastic Kids Press Corps

Senator Joe Lieberman celebrates his victory, November 7, 2006. (Photo: Robert F. Bukaty/AP Images)

November 8, 2006

Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut was re-elected to the Senate after losing in his party's primary months earlier. The one-time Vice Presidential candidate lost in the Democratic primary to challenger Ned Lamont. Lieberman quickly declared himself an Independent and continued to campaign.

After 18 years of service as a Senate Democrat, Lieberman will serve another six years, this time as an Independent. The race for the Senate seat also included Republican candidate Alan Schlesinger.

The Connecticut Senate race has been a hot one throughout the election season. Lamont, a Greenwich, Connecticut millionaire, won the primary by convincing voters that Lieberman supported President George Bush and the Iraq War. Lamont promised to bring the troops home.

The anti-war stance didn't play as well in the mid-term election. Lamont only pulled in a reported 40 percent of the vote compared to Lieberman's 50 percent. Schlesinger received only 10 percent of the vote.

Lamont conceded the race to Lieberman at about 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday. "We made a difference," Lamont said. "That's what we worked for for the last 10 months, and we'll continue to work for it tomorrow."

Although he is no longer a member of the Democratic Party, Lieberman said he would continue to align himself with the Democratic Caucus in the Senate. And despite his Democratic roots, Lieberman won this race with wide support from Republicans.

At his victory party, a very cheerful Lieberman took to the podium to thank his supporters.

"I'm Joe Lieberman and I approve of this election," Senator Lieberman said, mocking TV election ads, which often end with that phrase. "And not only that—I deeply appreciate this election."

Incumbent wins in her first race

M. Jodi Rell is Connecticut's Governor once again. As expected, she was victorious over her challenger, Democrat John DeStefano.

Although this was Rell's first race for Governor, she was an incumbent. She became Governor when former Governor John Roland was sent to prison for taking bribes.

Democrats had hoped that people would vote for change, helping DeStefano defeat Governor Rell—but that did not happen. Rell won by a wide margin with a reported 63 percent of the vote.

DeStefano has served as Mayor of New Haven for 13 years. His campaign focused on a need for change. Voters in Connecticut, however, decided to stick with their current leader.