The former longtime senator from Connecticut identified as a Democrat in Congress, and ran for vice president on Al Gore's 2000 presidential ticket.
Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in the disputed 2000 election and who almost became Republican John McCain's running mate eight years later, has died, according to a statement issued by his family.
Lieberman came tantalizingly close to winning the vice presidency in the contentious 2000 presidential contest that was decided by a 537-vote margin of victory for George W. Bush in Florida after a drawn-out recount, legal challenges and a Supreme Court decision. He was the first Jewish candidate on a major party’s presidential ticket and would have been the first Jewish vice president.
He defended his partisan switches as a matter of conscience, saying he always had the best interests of Connecticut voters at heart. Critics accused him of pursuing narrow self-interest and political expediency. Harry Reid, who served as Senate Democratic leader, once said that while he didn't always agree with the independent-minded Lieberman, he respected him.
In a statement issued Wednesday expressing condolences, Lamont said he and Lieberman eventually became friends after the grueling race. Lieberman made his Senate experience and congressional clout a strong selling point, saying he'd fight hard for the state’s defense jobs and its fair share of federal largesse. The strategy paid off.
After his rebound reelection in 2006, Lieberman decided to caucus with Democrats in the Senate, who let him head a committee in return because they needed his vote to help keep control of the closely divided chamber. But it wasn't long until Lieberman was showing his independent streak and ruffling his Democratic caucus colleagues.
"In the Senate, during the 3 1/2 years that Sen. Obama has been a member, he has not reached across party lines to ... accomplish anything significant, nor has he been willing to take on powerful interest groups in the Democratic Party to get something done," Lieberman said at the convention.Lieberman campaigned heartily across the country for McCain. Many Democrats considered it a betrayal to Obama and his former party colleagues.
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