NYT: Lamont campaign may add staff as more general election strategy to attract moderate voters is adopted

RAW STORY
Published: Tuesday August 15, 2006

Democratic Connecticut Senate candidate Ned Lamont may be hiring some new staff members as the Democratic Connecticut Senate candidate sets his sight on moderate voters, according to a front page article in Wednesday's New York Times, RAW STORY has learned.

"Just one week ago national Democrats united to try to nudge Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman out of his race for re-election after his defeat at the hands of his antiwar rival, Ned Lamont, in the Connecticut Democratic primary," Patrick Healy and Nicholas Confessore write for the Times.

"But now Lieberman appears to be in the race to stay, running as a retooled independent candidate who is taking on both the Democratic and Republican parties, and Connecticut is already seeing a full-throated re-enactment of their blistering primary battle," the article continues.

"As the newly proclaimed Democratic nominee, Lamont is moving to adopt a general election strategy that attracts more moderate voters, who are crucial to victory in Connecticut elections," the Times reports. "He is also seeking at least two experienced fundraising aides to tap more donors in Connecticut and nationwide, particularly those who are excited by the antiwar message."

Excerpts from the Times article:

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Lamont's staffing needs are also one of several signs that his rookie bid for statewide election is still evolving: He lacks such basic political tools as an opposition research effort to ferret out the sources of Lieberman's campaign contributions and other tidbits that might embarrass the senator. Lamont's communications and advance operations also need to be expanded, said Tom Swan, the campaign manager.

"There is a need for us to adjust a lot, to adjust significant pieces of the campaign and tap our thousands of volunteers," Swan said. "Having said that, I believe we have a lot to build off of to make that easier."

Some Lamont allies have privately expressed disdain for the idea of bringing on any outside consultants, noting that most big-name Democratic consultants had shown little willingness to help Lamont when he was an obscure businessman running a long-shot campaign.

"I don't want to hire any of those big-fee consultant types from Washington who just want to come in and make money off of Ned," Swan said. "We won the primary on Ned's message; we can win the general in a similar way."

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FULL TIMES ARTICLE AT THIS LINK

(Editor's note: The published Times article contained slight differences compared to the advance version received by RAW STORY so the quotes drawn from the story were changed to reflect this; Changes were also made to the text and headline)