HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - minuteworld Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman, locked in a primary battle with a political novice fueled by anti-war sentiment, was crisscrossing the state Tuesday in an attempt keep his Senate seat. A new poll showed the nation's most closely watched primary race tightening between Lieberman and anti-war challenger Ned Lamont.
Lieberman, who has said he will run as an independent in the fall if defeated in the primary, planned to vote in his hometown of New Haven Tuesday morning.
Jack Ellovich of Hartford voted for Lieberman Tuesday, and predicted that the primary could have national implications.
"If Joe loses today because of the anti-war thing, I think you're also going to see a lot of Republicans running for the door," Ellovich said.
Lamont, a millionaire owner of a cable television company, held a slight lead of 51 percent to 45 percent over Lieberman among likely Democratic voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday.
The telephone poll of 784 likely Democratic primary voters, conducted from July 31 to Aug. 6, has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Elections also are being held Tuesday in Colorado, Missouri, Michigan and Georgia. In Georgia, Rep. Cynthia McKinney, who made headlines this year for a scuffle with a U.S. Capitol Police officer, faced a runoff for her district's Democratic nomination.
If defeated, Lieberman would be only the fourth incumbent senator since 1980 to lose a primary election.
Some Democrats object to the three-term senator and 2000 vice presidential candidate's support for the Iraq war, saying he is too close to Republicans and President Bush. Lieberman said he believes voters are coming back to him.
"I feel they were flirting with the other guy for a while, wanting to send me a message," he said Monday during a stop at a restaurant in Hartford. "I got their message. I think they want to send me back to Washington to continue working with them, fighting for them, and delivering for Connecticut."
Lieberman acknowledged he was still behind. "I'm not kidding myself. But the momentum is our direction. I just hope and pray for a big turnout," he said.
Quinnipiac Poll Director Douglas Schwartz said people may be having second thoughts about Lamont, whose only political experience is two years as a Greenwich selectman and six years on the town's Board of Estimate and Taxation.
The race has attracted tremendous interest, both in Connecticut and nationally. More than 14,000 Connecticut voters switched their registration from unaffiliated to Democrat to vote in the primary, while another 14,000 new voters registered as Democrats, according to state statistics.
"People want change and people like what they hear from Ned," said Liz Dupont-Diehl, Lamont's campaign spokeswoman.
Some argue the GOP would be better off if Lieberman wins, on the theory that anti-war activists would become discouraged and stay home in November.
Others argue that Republicans will be better off if Lamont prevails. That way, the argument goes, they can try and win over voters by telling them the Democrats have been taken over by an anti-war fringe and can't be trusted to protect the nation's security.
McKinney, meanwhile, is trying to counter her opponent's charge that the six-term congresswoman is "the candidate of polarization and divisiveness."
McKinney, the state's first black woman in Congress, once claimed the Bush administration had advance knowledge of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. In March, she struck a Capitol Police officer who did not recognize her and tried to stop her from entering a House office building.
A grand jury in Washington declined to indict her, but she was forced to apologize in the full House. She drew less than 50 percent of the vote in last month's primary and faces off against Hank Johnson, the black former commissioner of DeKalb County, which encompasses much of Atlanta.
In a radio ad, McKinney acknowledges that she's "not perfect. But I've worked hard, told you the truth and I'm not afraid to speak truth to power," she said.
In other primaries Tuesday:
—In Colorado's heavily conservative 5th District, voters will choose among six GOP candidates to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Joel Hefley, a 10-year veteran. The winner will face Democratic Air Force veteran Jay Fawcett. In another race, three Democrats are competing to replace U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez, the Republican nominee for governor.
—In Michigan, Republican Rep. Joe Schwarz faces a serious challenge from former state lawmaker Tim Walberg. Schwarz, a moderate Republican, is backed by President Bush, Arizona Sen. John McCain and the National Rifle Association. But the race has been dominated by a struggle over GOP principles. Outside groups have spent more than $1 million on the race.
—Missouri Republican Sen. Jim Talent and Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill, the state auditor, are expected to win their party's primaries. Voters will also decide whether to renew a 22-year-old sales tax to fund state parks and other conservation initiatives.
