CONNECTICUT FOR LIEBERMAN

'Connecticut for Lieberman' is the Connecticut political party created by twenty-five supporters of Senator Joe Lieberman. The party was created to enable Sen. Lieberman to run for re-election following his defeat in the Connecticut Democratic primary, as Connecticut election law gives preferred placement on the ballot to candidates affiliated with parties.^{[1] [2]} In the succeeding general election, Lieberman received 50% of the vote, defeating Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Alan Schlesinger.^[3]

Contents

Party origins

Post-election dispute

References

Party origins

The party was established on July 10, 2006, and began collecting signatures in case Lieberman did not win the Connecticut Democratic primary.^[1] On August 8, 2006, Lieberman lost the Democratic primary to Lamont. The next day, over 7,500 signatures were filed with the Secretary of State's office in support of Lieberman's candidacy, earning the party a ballot spot in November.
The party's formation is very similar to the A Connecticut Party, created for Lowell Weicker's election under its label.
Some pro-Lamont blogs referred to the party as "Lieberman for Lieberman."^[5][6][7]

Post-election dispute

On August 9, 2006, the day following the primary, Lieberman supporter Stuart R. Korchin changed his party registration to Connecticut for Lieberman.^[8]
On November 15, 2006, John Orman changed his party registration from Democratic to the Connecticut for Lieberman Party. Orman, a professor of politics at Fairfield University, had briefly challenged Lieberman for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in 2006.^[9][10]
Party rules were filed with the Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz on December 21, 2006 by Orman. According to Ted Bromely, a state elections attorney who works for her office, then said, "If someone wanted to challenge it, they'd have to go to court."^[11]8[12]
On January 12, 2007 Korchin filed a different set of party rules with the Secretary of the State, which were also accepted.⁸
In response to an inquiry, Korchin received a letter from a lawyer in the Secretary of the State’s office on January 17, 2007 stating that the state had "very limited jurisdiction" over intraparty battles, and was not taking a position over just who was in charge.^[12] In March Korchin changed the Wikipedia entry on the party to reflect his role and in response to Orman's claims.⁸
In Milford in January, 2007, at what was billed as an "organizational meeting" of the party, Orman and Korchin appeared, each claiming to be the party chairman. Korchin announced the annual party meeting would be held in August and left, after which the Milford gathering elected Orman as chair, by a 5-1 margin.^[14]
On July 10, 2007, Orman wrote to Bysiewicz and Jeffrey Garfield, executive director of the Elections Enforcement Commission. He asked them to have the state attorney general's office investigate the petitioning done by Lieberman in 2006. Orman's contention was that Lieberman had violated state law by knowingly circulating false petitions, in that he had no actual intent to join or form a new party.^[15]

References

1. Many Factors in Play as Senate Primary Nears in Connecticut. Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
2. Petitioning Parties (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
3. Lieberman Prevails Against Lamont in Connecticut Anne E. Kornblut
4. Many Factors in Play as Senate Primary Nears in Connecticut. Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
5. CT-Sen: Lieberman for Lieberman. Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
6. Lieberman for Lieberman. Retrieved on 2006-12-20.
7. Lamont's Victory & Lieberman's Insult to Democracy & the Democratic Party David Sirota
8. 2 claim leadership of Lieberman party
9. Critic delights in taunting Lieberman Gregory B. Hladky
10. Crashing the Lieberman Party Shawn Zeller
11. Sen. Lieberman's Party Taken Over By Critic
12. Lieberman's Party, but Someone Else's Fight Jennifer Medina
13. Lieberman's Party, but Someone Else's Fight Jennifer Medina
14. "'Lieberman Party' Hijackers Win HoJo Skirmish"
15.