Where The Lattes Reign
If there was a way to obtain the per capita income and racial demographics of each Connecticut town, some politico cartographer wizard out there could have a field day portraying the economics and ethnicity of this race. Ned Lamont, scion of the Eastern Establishment, rolled up staggering margins in those places most likely to include his fellow anti-war WASPs. Joe Lieberman, son of a Stamford liquor store owner, won the workaday towns most likely to include other ethnic voters less motivated by opposition to Iraq.
With the exception of some of the cities or grittier suburbs, Lamont racked up victories of 10% or higher in town after town along the state's affluent shoreline. From his hometown of Greenwich (68-32%) on the Gold Coast next to NYC all the way up to Stonington (60-40%) on the RI line, Lamont won the Long Island Sound vote. He performed even better in the more wealthy parts of Litchfield Co, in the bucolic northwest corner of the state, crushing the three-term Senator with eye-popping numbers (Cornwall 91-9%; Canaan 83-17%) in some of the smaller towns there. The pattern was the same throughout the antique towns dotting the Connecticut River Valley, 15 point and higher margins throughout.
Lieberman's best returns came in the blue-collar and heavily-Irish and Italian Naugatuck River Valley, where he picked up 60-40 victories in places like Prospect, Beacon Falls, Naugatuck and Waterbury (where the rally with Pres Clinton was held).
Lamont's victories were not, however, totally limited to the state's elite. He scored victories in the two old-line Dem cities that are also home to tony colleges (New Haven, Yale and Middletown, Wesleyan Univ.) while also picking up a stunning win, as noted by Kevin Rennie, in the heavily-minority and low-income Bridgeport. Lieberman could've closed the gap down a bit from 4 pts had he done better in Hartford, but as the capital city returns finally rolled in for Lamont, it was clear who the night belonged to.
A closer look at two neighboring towns reveals the split. Sitting on the MA border halfway between Hartford and Springfield, MA, Enfield and Suffield are divided by only the Connecticut River. Both are essentially bedroom suburbs, but Enfield has a far higher middle-class and working-class population. Suffield, with its traditional clapboard houses and prep school on the town green, is more upper crust. The results reflect the pattern in the 167 other towns in CT: Lieberman eked out a two-point victory in Enfield, while losing by 20 in Suffield.
If it was, as Mike Barnicle put it on Hardball, a battle between Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks, the folks holding the soy lattes won.
[JONATHAN MARTIN]
These are the old Weicker strongholds. I wonder, had Weicker challenged Lieberman in the primary as he considered, if he would have won. That would have made Weicker a nominee of three different parties in his career -- an interesting thought.
Sigh. Why the hate?
Those of us who live in the Suburbs and Exurbs of America are the new mainstream. Or haven't you been reading David Brooks?
Barnicle's glib cable patter notwithstanding, the reality in Connecticut is a bit more complicated. Lieberman took 26% of Connecticut's towns and cities and he only swept a little over 12% of them (if getting 55% of the vote defines a sweep). Lamont's vote totals dipped under 40% in only 8 towns.
The Lieberman strongholds are more blue collar than white collar so class is an element. In fact some of the strongest support for Lieberman came from towns and cities that have been the most economically churned - along the I-395 corridor and central CT west of the CT river.
This primary race cut both ways. But Lamont's hurdle ain't near so steep as the dissatisfaction toward Lieberman is pretty vast.
I think a lot of people aren't happy with that plain old cup of Joe anymore.
Whoever says that this result shows that the Democrats are being taken over by ANYONE should have their heads handed to them.
This demonstrates in fact that Democrats are thoughtful and care about the nation AND the party, and can and will stand up a formidable class of challengers to the status quo, for November, 2006, AND November, 2008.