Former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy has won the Democratic nomination for governor of Connecticut, defeating 2006 Senate nominee and one-time Netroots hero Ned Lamont.
With 38% of precincts reporting, Malloy leads by 59%-41%, and Lamont has conceded the race. Lamont had led in all the polls during this primary race, but the final surveys did show a late surge in support for Malloy.
Lamont, of course, is the businessman and former Greenwich selectman who narrowly defeated Sen. Joe Lieberman in the 2006 Democratic primary, running on an anti-war platform. Lieberman then went on to win the general election as an independent, and continues to caucus with Democrats at the same time as he supports the right’s positions on foreign policy and endorsed John McCain for president in 2008.
Fun fact: Malloy previously ran for governor in that same 2006 primary, narrowly losing to New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, who then lost the general election to incumbent Republican Gov. Jodi Rell. This year, Rell is retiring, and the GOP nominee is yet to be determined tonight.
