HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Democratic candidate Ned Lamont, trailing Sen. Joe Lieberman by a double-digit margin, dropped another $2 million into his Senate bid in Connecticut on Saturday. The wealthy cable television executive has tapped his personal fortune for $12.7 million to fund his campaign.
Lamont has about two weeks to catch Lieberman, a three-term incumbent who has pulled to a 17-point lead, according to a recent poll. Lieberman lost the Democratic primary to Lamont and then launched an independent campaign.
The third and final televised debate of the race was scheduled for Monday. Unlike their second debate, which featured all five candidates, only Lieberman, Lamont and Republican Alan Schlesinger will share the stage. That could make it easier for Lamont to engage Lieberman directly.
"People have a real opportunity to see three candidates stand up, enunciate real differences about where this country should go," Lamont said Friday while campaigning in Hartford. "That's the best way to get our message out, through debates."
Lieberman spokeswoman Tammy Sun said, "We expect Ned Lamont may stoop to new lows in misrepresenting Joe Lieberman's record in a desperate last-minute ploy."
Schlesinger, considered a long shot, was at 6 percent in the latest Quinnipiac University survey. He and Lieberman are vying for Republican support, so any Schlesinger gains could come at Lieberman's expense.
Lieberman drew much of the criticism that came from his rivals in the first two debates. He has widened his lead from 10 points last month, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll. The senator gained an edge with independent voters, the state's largest voting bloc, and with men, the survey showed.
"It's a steep uphill battle for Lamont to erase this substantial gap," said Quinnipiac poll director Doug Schwartz. "He's got to do something different, because what he's been doing up to this point hasn't been working. In fact, his numbers have been getting lower."
Lamont is flooding the airwaves with a new ad campaign in the coming days to try to close the gap. Lieberman, who enjoys a fundraising advantage, has accused Lamont of trying to buy the election with a $1 million barrage of TV commercials assailing him.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the Democratic 2004 presidential nominee, hopes to give Lamont a boost when he campaigns with Lamont on Wednesday. Lieberman will stump with former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Democrat, on the same day.
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Associated Press writer Susan Haigh contributed to this story.
