Steve Clemons at TPM Cafe has the story…

I just got off the phone with George Jepsen, who was the Immediate Past Chairman of the Democratic Party of Connecticut and the current State Senate Majority Leader.

When we spoke, Jepsen was driving to Democratic Party headquarters where he planned to formally announce his endorsement of Senate Democratic contender Ned Lamont over incumbent Joseph Lieberman.

This is big news for Lamont. The backbone of any successful campaign, especially one of this nature is a strong infrastructure that helps validate the candidate and the campaign. This endorsement will do just that. Sen. Lieberman paints Ned Lamont as an anti-war, one issue candidate. Having people from the CT Democratic establishment will help dispel this notion and will therefore weaken Lieberman’s main talking points. This race is heating up and DoubleSpeak will follow every in, out and what-have-you.

Polling Update from Political Wire

Stay tuned…

Businessman Ned Lamont (D), who is vying to upset Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) in Connecticut’s August primary was endorsed today by American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a union of over 26,000 professionals, including healthcare, higher education, and public employees.

Ned Lamont’s blog:

This endorsement came down to the issues of education and healthcare and the draining of resources from our state in order to fund the war in Iraq,” said Sharon Palmer, president of AFT Connecticut. “Ned Lamont understands these issues and agrees with our positions.”

“Our educational system has been pushed to the limit by the requirements under No Child Left Behind which has been underfunded by forty-five billion dollars,” said Palmer. “Ned Lamont will support students and teachers by fighting to fully fund this federal mandate.”

“With more than one in ten people in Connecticut uninsured and many more underinsured, our state is facing a health care crisis of epic proportions,” said Palmer. “Ned Lamont supports universal health care that will provide high quality health care for all.”

“More than two hundred and fifty million dollars a day is being diverted into the war in Iraq,” said Palmer. “Money that could have been used to improve public services in Connecticut. Ned Lamont understands this and will stand up to the Bush Administration. That’s why AFT Connecticut is proud to endorse Ned Lamont for U.S. Senate. Ned Lamont will fight to improve education, healthcare and public services for Connecticut’s working families.”

POLTICAL WIRE: Lieberman Allies Planning Independent Bid