 | |||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 81.4%[1] | ||||||||||||||||
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 County results Municipality results Congressional district resultsLieberman: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Weicker: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Tie: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1988 United States Senate election in Connecticut took place on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Republican U.S. SenatorLowell Weicker ran for re-election to a fourth term but was narrowly defeated by DemocratJoe Lieberman, theConnecticut Attorney General and eventual2000 nominee forVice President of the United States, who would remain in office until 2013. This is the last time a Connecticut Senator lost re-election.
Both Weicker and Lieberman would go on to win state-wide elections as independents respectively in1990 for governor and in2006 for Senate. Lieberman's swearing-in marked the first time since 1971 that Democrats held both Senate seats from Connecticut. Lieberman was at times considered to the right of Weicker, with him benefiting from the support ofNational Review founderWilliam F. Buckley Jr., and his brother, former U.S. Senator from New YorkJames L. Buckley, with William Buckley running columns in support of Lieberman.
| Dates | Lieberman | Weicker | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 22, 1988 | Participant | Participant | C-SPAN |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Lowell Weicker (R) | Joe Lieberman (D) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Connecticut[2] | November 1 - 3, 1988 | 515 (LV) | ± 5% | 42% | 36% | 22% |
| University of Connecticut[3] | October 23 - 30, 1988 | 1,000 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 38% | 37% | 25% |
| Hartford Courant[4] | October, 1988 | 512 (V) | – | 39% | 39% | 22% |
| Quinnipiac University[5] | September 27 – October 5, 1988 | 742 (RV) | – | 41.4% | 26.9% | – |
| University of Connecticut[6] | September 12 – 18, 1988 | 512 (RV) | ± 5% | 44% | 30% | 27% |
| University of Connecticut[7] | July 11 – 18, 1988 | 508 (RV) | ± 5% | 47% | 31% | – |
| Hartford Courant[8] | April, 1988 | 500 (RV) | – | 51% | 27% | 22% |
| Campaign finance reports as of December 31, 1988 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Joe Lieberman (D) | $2,650,603 | $2,570,779 | $79,824 |
| Lowell Weicker (R) | $2,781,538 | $2,681,294 | $52,517 |
| Source:Federal Election Commission[9] | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Lieberman | 688,499 | 49.76% | |
| Republican | Lowell Weicker (incumbent) | 678,454 | 49.04% | |
| Libertarian | Howard A. Grayson Jr. | 12,409 | 0.90% | |
| New Alliance | Melissa M. Fisher | 4,154 | 0.30% | |
| Total votes | 1,383,516 | 100.00% | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
Weicker and Lieberman won 3 of 6 congressional districts, respectively. Lieberman won one held by a Republican, while Weicker won one held by a Democrat.[11]
| District | Joe Lieberman Democratic | Lowell Weicker Republican | Others | Total votes cast | Representative | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | |||
| 1st | 122,631 | 52.05% | 110,646 | 46.97% | 2,290 | 0.98% | 235,567 | Barbara B. Kennelly |
| 2nd | 110,238 | 48.03% | 116,207 | 50.64% | 3,032 | 1.33% | 229,477 | Sam Gejdenson |
| 3rd | 123,634 | 53.95% | 102,954 | 44.93% | 2,571 | 1.12% | 229,159 | Bruce Morrison |
| 4th | 94,982 | 44.55% | 115,244 | 54.06% | 2,964 | 1.39% | 213,190 | Chris Shays |
| 5th | 113,984 | 49.16% | 114,878 | 49.54% | 3,001 | 1.30% | 231,863 | John G. Rowland |
| 6th | 123,030 | 50.37% | 118,525 | 48.52% | 2,705 | 1.11% | 244,260 | Nancy Johnson |
| Totals | 688,499 | 49.76% | 678,454 | 49.04% | 16,563 | 1.20% | 1,383,516 | |
