Conn. Sen. Joe Lieberman wins re-election

HARTFORD, Conn., Nov. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman won re-election in Connecticut, beating businessman Ned Lamont, who defeated him in the August Democratic primary.

With 95 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday, Lieberman had 50 percent of the vote to Lamont's 40 percent. Lieberman, a conservative Democrat who backed U.S. President George Bush on Iraq, won re-election with Republican support and a $17.5 million campaign war chest, the Hartford (Conn.) Courant said.

Lamont, 52, spent nearly $16 million of his personal fortune in his first political race.

"I'm Joe Lieberman and I approve of this election," Lieberman, 64, beamed to a crowd at the Goodwin Hotel in Hartford.

Lieberman called his re-election "a declaration of independence from the politics of partisanship."