From The Morning GrindFormer President Bill Clinton will campaign for embattled Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Connecticut) next week, as a new poll released this morning shows that Lieberman is in serious danger of losing his primary.
Clinton, who worked on Lieberman's first campaign for state Senate in 1970, will appear Monday in Waterbury for the incumbent Democrat. Clinton's public show of support for Lieberman comes at a time when some of the Connecticut Democrat's Senate colleagues and former Vice President Al Gore refuse to endorse his re-election bid. Clinton's own wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York), has pledged to support Lieberman in his primary battle, but added she would back the Democratic nominee in the general election.
News of Clinton's visit this morning coincides with the release of a new Quinnipiac University poll that shows Democratic challenger Ned Lamont has a four point lead over Lieberman, 51 percent to 47 percent, among likely Democratic primary voters. The previous Quinnipiac poll taken last month had Lieberman leading Lamont 55 percent to 40 percent in the race for the Democratic Senate nomination. The primary is scheduled for August. 8.
Lamont has successfully used his own personal fortune to advocate an anti-war message that has been embraced by 'netroots' Democratic activists. Lieberman is a vocal supporter of Bush's actions in Iraq, which is an unpopular position among many Democrats.
If Lieberman loses the primary, he has pledged to seek a fourth term by running an independent campaign. And the Quinnipiac poll shows that Lieberman would win if the general election turns into a three way race. Under this scenario, Lieberman gets 51 percent, while Lamont would attract 27 percent and the likely GOP nominee Alan Schlesinger would receive only 9 percent.
"Lamont is up, while Lieberman's Democratic support is dropping," Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz said in a statement accompanying the survey's release. "More Democrats have a favorable opinion of Lamont, who was largely unknown last month, and see him as an acceptable alternative to Lieberman. But Lieberman's strength among Republicans and independents gives him the lead in a three-way match-up in November."
