Conn. anti-war candidate weighs run for governor
Susan HaighNed Lamont, the anti-Iraq war political phenomenon who nearly knocked Joe Lieberman out of the U.S. Senate, has turned his attention to next year's race for the Connecticut governorship.
While his entry into an already crowded field of Democrats has created a stir in this state, which hasn't seen a Democratic governor for about two decades, it's unclear if the millionaire businessman can generate the same enthusiasm and hype for a run for governor after the 2006 primary victory over Lieberman that made him a national political figure.
"Ned Lamont, of course, was a single-issue candidate back in 2006. So when people think of Ned Lamont, they think of Iraq," said Gary Rose, a political science professor at Sacred Heart University.
"He has to obviously broaden his message if he expects to win the party's nomination," he said. "I don't think you win a gubernatorial nomination based on foreign policy, at least not the last time I looked."
Lamont, a political unknown who eventually lost to Lieberman in the general election after the senator ran as an independent candidate, announced Wednesday he had formed an exploratory committee for governor under Connecticut's election laws.
Lamont has already tailored his message to his new race, touting his background as an entrepreneur and stressing how Connecticut needs someone with experience creating jobs. He said Connecticut, which has been struggling for a year with massive budget deficits and a growing unemployment rate that reached 8.4 percent in September, has been slow to reinvent itself so it can keep jobs.
Without mentioning her name, he has criticized Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell — who has yet to announce whether she's running in 2010 — for "not getting the job done."
"We're going to get our mojo back," he told a group of students Thursday at Central Connecticut State University, as about a half-dozen reporters looked on.
Lamont is dropping into the gubernatorial race a little late. Other Democrats, including former House Speaker James Amann, Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy, state Sen. Gary LeBeau and Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi, have been meeting with local Democratic town committees for months to seek their support at next year's state convention. Amann is the only declared candidate, although the others are raising money with exploratory committees.
Jonathan Pelto, who has formed a political action committee that's aimed at rallying around a Democrat to become the next governor, said he believes Lamont faces a tough challenge convincing the party faithful to support him over other, more experienced candidates who likely share his stances on many issues.
"In 2006, the people who participated in the primary were far more likely to support Lamont over Lieberman," Pelto said. "But in 2010, those people have other choices that they're much more comfortable with."
Pelto said Lamont could risk alienating his base, whom he refers to as "the non-establishment, progressive liberal activists," if the wealthy candidate doesn't participate in Connecticut's public campaign financing program, seen as a major victory to campaign finance reform advocates.
Lamont, who spent $16 million of his own money in the 2006 race, would not say Thursday whether he'll participate in the program. It was recently ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge but remains in place as the state appeals the decision. Lamont has supported public financing of campaigns in the past.
All of Lamont's potential foes have already signed on to the program.
Yet Douglas Schwartz, director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said Lamont's personal wealth, coupled with his statewide name recognition after the 2006 race, could help him in a run for governor.
"He'll be the big name," Schwartz said. "None of the other candidates will have the kind of name recognition. None will have the money."
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Associated Press Writer Stephanie Reitz in New Britain, Conn., contributed to this report.