Published on Wednesday, August 9, 2006 by the Boston Globe

Antiwar Challengers Across US Get a Vote of Confidence

by Susan Milligan

WASHINGTON -- In October 2002, lawmakers in Congress were presented with a preelection test about where they stood on Iraq, and most answered it by siding with President Bush, voting to authorize his use of force against Saddam Hussein and promising an anxious electorate that they would be protected against a potential threat from Iraq. Four years later, with nearly 2,600 US soldiers dead and no trace of the weapons of mass destruction that the White House said Hussein possessed, it is the Iraq war hawks who are on the defensive, ahead of midterm congressional elections that could tip the balance of power in one or both houses of Congress. Upstart challenger Ned Lamont's win last night in Connecticut's Democratic Senate primary election against three-term incumbent Joseph I. Lieberman has given added momentum and confidence to antiwar candidates like Lamont across the nation, politicians who believe discontent over Iraq could be a deciding factor in their campaigns. While Connecticut is a Democratic bastion, Lamont victory over Lieberman -- his party's vice presidential nominee in 2000 -- sent a signal to incumbents across the country that angry voters may punish them for backing the war or for supporting President Bush, according to political analysts. ``I think the war is a very big issue, basically because it seems to be never-ending. It seems to be getting worse, not better," said Jon Delano, a political scientist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. ``Those who embrace the war and who have offered no solution to getting out are clearly going to find themselves in trouble." House districts have been drawn carefully to protect incumbents in both parties, and GOP officials assert that individual House and Senate races will be decided on parochial issues, and not the national mood on the war. But Lamont's success indicates that voters are willing to make a change, Delano said. Pollsters and political analysts believe House and Senate races are up for grabs in other states, including Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Rhode Island.