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Ned Lamont

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Ned Lamont is the Democratic nominee for the Senate in Connecticut

Ned Lamont was the unsuccessful Democratic Party nominee in the 2006 congressional election for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.).

Contents

Biography

Born in 1954, Lamont grew up in Syosset, New York. He is an heir to the fortune of his great-grandfather, Thomas W. Lamont, who was a partner of the banking and finance firm J. P. Morgan & Co. After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1972, he earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1976 and a Masters of Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management in 1980.

Lamont began his professional career working for a small newspaper in Ludlow, Vermont. He then entered the cable television industry, managing the startup of Cablevision's operation in Fairfield County, Connecticut. In 1984, he founded, and is currently president and chairman of, Lamont Digital Systems, a builder and operator of advanced telecommunications networks for college campuses and residential gated communities, with over 150,000 subscribers. [1] His most recent salary was reported as $546,000 per year. [2] A trade publication reported Lamont and his partners tried unsuccessfully to sell the firm two years ago. [3]

Before running for the U.S. Senate, Lamont was elected and served as selectman in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, for eight years (two terms), chaired the state investment advisory council, and served on many civic boards. [4]

2006 Senate campaign

After looking into a possible Senate run as early as 2005, Lamont officially declared his intention to challenge Lieberman in the Democratic primary in March of 2006. Pledging a large amount of money from his own personal fortune to finance his campaign, he declared the he would not accept any money from Washington lobbyists. He did, however, hire Ted Swan, who is registered as a lobbyist in the state of Connecticut, as his campaign manager. [5]

Lamont’s campaign attempted to focus the discourse surrounding the election on Lieberman’s moderate positions and frequent alliances with the Republican Party. Lamont painted Lieberman as a false progressive and drew focus to his support of the U.S. was in Iraq as a primary example. With public opinion becoming increasingly negative toward the war and the Bush administration’s handling of it, Lamont was able to boost his status from a little-known city selectman to a leading anti-war candidate capable of garnering national press attention. Hi campaign was propelled by the efforts of liberal advocacy groups such as MoveOn.org seeking to move the Democratic Party to the left on a number of issues, who were impressed by Lamont’s call for a quick withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Several powerful Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, campaigned for Lieberman during the primary, but party leaders were widely believed to have discouraged him from pursuing an independent bid was he to be defeated in the primary. [6]

On August , Lamont completed his transformation from dark horse to giant killer when he defeated Lieberman with 51.8% of the vote in the Democratic primary. The victory was seen by pundits as a reflection of a shift in voter perception regarding the war in Iraq and the direction of the country. [7]

After his primary loss, however, Lieberman did not drop out of the race. Instead, he announced an independent bid to retain his Senate seat. He exhibited more initial appeal to Republican and independent voters than Lamont, and the latter was once again forced to play catch up. In the general election, Lamont was tasked with the difficulty of extending his appeal to demographics which did not strongly oppose the war in Iraq.

Broadening his support to new demographics proved to be difficult for Lamont. He lost the general election to Lieberman, receiving 40% of the vote to Lieberman's 50% (Republican Alan Schlesinger received 10%). [8]

Meet the Cash Constituents

Contact

Campaign Contact Information

Lamont for Senate
300 Research Parkway Suite 102
Meriden, CT 06450
Phone: 203 634-6601
E-Mail: Info AT nedlamont.com
Website: http://nedlamont.com/

Articles and Resources

Resources

Local blogs and discussion sites

Articles

2006

2007

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