New Poll Shows Lieberman Losing Ground

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Millionaire businessman Ned Lamont opened a double-digit lead over veteran Sen. Joe Lieberman less than a week before Connecticut's Democratic primary, raising the possibility that the three-term senator may have to run as an independent in November, a new poll released Thursday shows.

Lamont, a political novice, had support from 54 percent of likely Democratic voters in the Quinnipiac University poll, while Lieberman had support from 41 percent of voters. The sampling error margin was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

A similar survey July 20 showed Lamont with a slight advantage for the first time in the campaign.

''Senator Lieberman's campaign bus seems to be stuck in reverse,'' poll director Douglas Schwartz said. ''Despite visits from former President Bill Clinton and other big-name Democrats, Lieberman has not been able to stem the tide to Lamont.''

Lieberman, 64, one of the Senate's most well-known Democrats and his party's nominee for vice president in 2000, has been harshly criticized on liberal political Internet blogs and in Connecticut for his support of the Iraq war and his perceived closeness with President Bush.

''The fact is I'm about a lot more than one issue and the future of the people of Connecticut is about a lot more than one issue,'' Lieberman said Thursday during a campaign stop in West Hartford.

Lamont, 52, who owns a successful cable television firm, has been able to tap into rank-and-file Democratic voters' frustration with Lieberman as well as his personal wealth, contributing $3 million to his campaign.

''It shows that people are hearing the message and like the message of change and hope,'' said Liz Dupont-Diehl, a spokeswoman for the Lamont campaign.

(The rest is here.)