State Certifies Lieberman To Appear On Ballot

By Susan Haigh

Associated Press

HARTFORD — US Senator Joe Lieberman has enough voter signatures to secure a spot on the November ballot with a new party, the secretary of the state said Wednesday.

The certification means that Lieberman, who lost the Democratic primary to a political newcomer, will run for reelection as the candidate of the Connecticut for Lieberman party.

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said Lieberman exceeded the 7,500 signatures necessary to get on the ballot as an independent.

“We are happy to have cleared this hurdle, so we can focus on bringing people together in Connecticut for a new politics of unity and purpose,” said Dan Gerstein, Lieberman’s campaign spokesman.

Lieberman will face Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Alan Schlesinger in the general election.

Lieberman lost the August 8 Democratic primary to Lamont, a Greenwich businessman who criticized Lieberman for his support of the Iraq war and perceived closeness to President Bush. Lamont’s 10,000-vote victory was seen as a referendum on an unpopular war.

The day after the primary, Lieberman submitted petitions to create his own political party and appear on the ballot. Creating a new party allows Lieberman to secure a position higher on the ballot than running as an independent.

Lieberman says he would still vote with Democrats if elected.

Lamont’s campaign manager, Tom Swan, said he was “confident that our message of change will trump his stay-the-course message in November.”

An American Research Group poll released Tuesday showed Lieberman and Lamont about even among likely voters, with Lieberman receiving 44 percent of the vote, Lamont 42 percent and Schlesinger 3 percent. Last week, a Quinnipiac University poll showed Lieberman leading Lamont by 12 percentage points among likely voters.