US: Senator Joseph Lieberman fought for survival in a Democratic Party vote in the Senate primary in Connecticut yesterday seen as a test of the former vice-presidential candidate's support for the Iraq war and his relationship with President Bush.
Mr Lieberman, a three-term senator, scrambled to avoid a humiliating defeat at the hands of fellow Democrat Ned Lamont, a political unknown who has characterised the senator as a cheerleader for Mr Bush and the war.
Mr Lamont, whose last bid for office was an unsuccessful 1990 run for the state Senate, held a six-point lead over Mr Lieberman in a poll released on Monday, down from a 13-point advantage in the same poll last week.
His outsider bid to unseat Mr Lieberman in Democratic-leaning Connecticut could offer an early measure of anti-war sentiment among voters before November's election, when control of Congress will be up for grabs. "Your vote will determine the national headlines tomorrow: 'Connecticut Democrats show support for war, President Bush' or 'Democrats in Connecticut foreshadow national call for accountability in Iraq'," Mr Lamont said in an election-day appeal on his website.
Last-minute accusations flew yesterday when Mr Lieberman's camp charged Mr Lamont's supporters with mounting "a co-ordinated attack" on the senator's campaign website.
"If Senator Lieberman's website was indeed hacked, we had absolutely no part in it, denounce the action, and urge whoever is responsible cease and desist immediately," said Tim Tagaris, Mr Lamont's internet communications director. Mr Lieberman says he will run as an independent if he loses the primary, although a lopsided defeat would put pressure on him to step aside. The winner will face off in November against Republican Alan Schlesinger, a former state legislator who is seen as little threat in Connecticut.
Several well-known black Democratic leaders, including Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Maxine Waters of California, will help get out the black vote for Mr Lamont in a race that could turn on which side does a better job of getting supporters to the polls.
Connecticut secretary of state Susan Bysiewicz said she expects around 200,000 voters, including about 27,000 newly registered Democrats who can cast ballots in the Senate primary.
Independents and unaffiliated voters had until midday yesterday to register as Democrats to vote in the primary.
The Connecticut race has attracted national attention for its emphasis on the war and Democratic anger at President Bush.
Mr Lamont has called Mr Lieberman an enabler of Mr Bush and a President Bush "lapdog".