U.S. Senate Race News

There are a couple of interesting stories about the Senate race out today.

Lamont Picks Up Greenwich Delegate Endorsements

Ned Lamont picked up sixteen delegates in his hometown of Greenwich.

Anti-war candidate Ned Lamont enjoyed a distinct hometown advantage over incumbent Joe Lieberman last night as Greenwich Democrats were forced to declare their allegiances in this year's U.S. Senate race.

Sixteen of 22 delegates elected by the Democratic Town Committee to represent Greenwich at the state party convention threw their support to the challenger Lamont.
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Lieberman failed to pick up a single endorsement from the 29 Democrats who ran for the 22 delegate spots, a clear indication of the growing dissatisfaction with Lieberman's support of the war in Iraq. (Vigdor)

It isn't surprising that Lamont would have support in his hometown, of course. This story could be spun a number of ways: either that it's obvious that Lamont is winning support and is a legitimate candidate, or that he failed to carry the entire delegation from his hometown. Well, at least he still has Cornwall's delegate.

Interestingly, I have yet to hear about Lieberman's delegates, although they must be out there.

Courant Comments on Influence of Blogs in Campaign

Sen. Lieberman's fued with Colin McEnroe is reported on in the Courant this morning. Mark Pazniokas also examines the role blogs are playing in this campaign:

Six years ago, when Lieberman last ran for re-election, his comments would have had the shelf life of an ice-cream cone. But on Thursday, they only grew louder, amplified by Internet bloggers.
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Online buzz about Lamont, who has been an official candidate for less than two weeks, already has helped generate $132,255 in credit-card donations to Lamont through a Democratic fundraising site, ActBlue.Com. About $10,000 came in Thursday.

"From time to time, there are events and we'll see little blips," said Tom Swan, manager of the Lamont campaign. "Sometimes it's from a series of postings on the Web, like this." (Pazniokas)

McEnroe weighed in, too:

McEnroe said the episode was a "bloggable moment" for several reasons, including Lieberman's insult of bloggers during the interview, his special status as an online target of liberals, and his unusually blunt language, which the bloggers interpreted as fear.

"This little moment on our show, it wasn't a gigantic moment," McEnroe said. "It was a kind of moment [the bloggers] were looking for. They were kind of looking for a moment when Lieberman's famous composure broke a little bit." (Pazniokas)

Exactly so. It also doesn't help Lieberman that he really doesn't have a base of Democratic supporters online. That may be a commentary about who, exactly, is writing blogs, or it may be a commentary on Lieberman himself.

Just how much of an influence these sorts of "bloggable moments" will have on the outcome of the campaign is debatable, but that blogs and other political sites have an influence is undeniable.

Lieberman's Numbers Remain Steady

A SurveyUSA Poll released yesterday shows Lieberman's numbers have remained pretty steady over the last month. There isn't any movement at all in Democratic support, which is hovering at 56%. Lieberman is under 50% with self-identified liberals, though, who may be the largest block of primary voters.

Schlesinger Almost In

Alan Schlesinger told the Journal-Inquirer that he's "very likely" to enter the Senate race next month.

Schlesinger, 48, a partner in the Shelton-based law firm of Schlesinger & Barbara and the interim finance director in Derby, said Wednesday he's seriously exploring a bid for the Republican nod in the election.

Describing himself as a "moderate conservative" with a background in finance and decades of government experience, Schlesinger said he expected to show voters that he was "not just some hack the Republicans are running again against a known Democrat."
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"I've got the top of the ticket on my side and all I've got to get is some normal people," he said, referring to the high poll ratings garnered by Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

"Jodi's going to win big, and I have a shot at pulling it off," he added. "That's why I'm no sacrificial lamb. Nine out of the 10 elections I've won, and I've taken out three incumbent Democrats."

Schlesinger also cited what he said was an "eerie" historical precedent. Republican Lowell P. Weicker Jr., he said, defeated Democratic Sen. Thomas J. Dodd in 1970 when liberals, angry at Dodd's support for the war in Vietnam and his support for President Lyndon Johnson, essentially denied him the party's nomination and backed an antiwar candidate, Joseph Duffey. He said Weicker was then a one-term congressman largely unknown outside the 4th District whose victory was aided by having the popular Gov. Thomas Meskill at the top of the Republican ticket. (Michak)

Gah, what a mangling of history. I will be writing about the 1970 race, as there are a ton of parallels. But firstly, Dodd was ill and was also discredited for some sort of banking scandal, and wasn't actually in the running for a long time. Also, Meskill was a congressman at the time, but won the governorship in a surprise victory.

Interestingly, one of Duffey's supporters was a young Joe Lieberman. But more on that later.

Schlesinger would be the youngest of the three candidates, and he's right: he does have a shot, especially if Lamont can win. Connecticut will vote for moderate conservatives. I revise my earlier statement: he's worth watching, and may be just the candidate the Republicans are looking for.

Sources

Michak, Don. "2nd Republican plans to enter Senate race; sees chance with disaffected Dems." Journal-Inquirer 23 March, 2006.

Pazniokas, Mark. "Online Buzz Benefits Lamont." Hartford Courant 24 March, 2006.

Vigdor, Neil. "(Story Title Unclear)." Greenwich Time 24 March, 2006.

SurveyUSA Poll: "APPROVAL RATINGS FOR ALL 100 U.S. SENATORS AS OF 03/23/06"