The giddiness from those on the far left after Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman went down in his Democratic primary against Ned Lamont, who ran an anti-Bush, anti-Iraq campaign, may be short-lived.
A poll released last week finds that Sen. Lieberman, now running as an independent in the general election, has a comfortable lead over Mr. Lamont.
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The survey, conducted by Quinnipiac University pollsters, found that 53 percent of likely voters favor Sen. Lieberman, while 41 percent back Mr. Lamont. Just 4 percent supported the Republican candidate, who is being encouraged by members of his own party to withdraw from the race.
Of course, there are still more than 11 weeks until the election. But following Mr. Lamont's high-profile 52-48 victory in the primary, pundits have pontificated about the result indicating rampant disatisfaction with the Bush administration and the war in Iraq.
The Quinnipiac poll reveals, however, that while such an analysis may indeed accurately reflect the feelings of many hard-core Democrats, it doesn't necessarily translate to the electorate as a whole. Sen. Lieberman was the runaway choice over Mr. Lamont among both likely Republican and independent voters.
"Ned Lamont's Democratic primary win was based on a very small percentage of voters statewide," Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz said. "He must expand beyond this base if he is going to beat Lieberman."
