Lieberman to announce retirement Wednesday

Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut Independent who caucuses with Democrats, will annouce his retirement Wednesday, according to a source.

A Democratic source claiming knowledge of Lieberman’s decision told The Hill the four-term senator will not seek another term in 2012.

A handful of political insiders in Connecticut also said they do not anticipate Lieberman will seek reelection, but at least one top Democrat warned that the longtime senator is notoriously unpredictable. 

{mosads}Lieberman scheduled a Wednesday afternoon announcement in his home state to reveal his intentions for next year, and according to one Democratic source, “No one expects him to run again.”

Two GOP sources in the state also told The Ballot Box that everything they’re hearing suggests Lieberman will not run again, and that party insiders expect that to be the senator’s decision Wednesday.  

Of the possibility that Lieberman could opt to run as a Republican: “Not a chance,” said one top GOP strategist in the state. 

One Democrat has already officially jumped into the race for Lieberman’s seat — former Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, who released an internal poll Tuesday that showed her beating Lieberman in a hypothetical three-way general-election contest. 

Lieberman said late last year that if he were to run again, it would more likely than not be as an Independent. That would force Lieberman to once again create a party line for himself and gather signatures to get his name on the ballot.

His decision would deal a blow to Democrats’ faint hopes of keeping the majority in the Senate after the 2012 election.

The announcement would come on top of Sen. Kent Conrad’s (D-N.D.) decision not to run again in 2012. 

The National Republican Senatorial Committee said in a statement
Wednesday evening: “With yet a second member of the Senate Democrat
caucus preparing for retirement within a 24-hour period, all of us are
left to wonder how many more Democrats may follow in their footsteps.”

Democrats have to defend 23 Senate seats next year, while the GOP only has 10 up for grabs. Republicans need a net gain of four seats to take control of the upper chamber.

But one veteran of several statewide campaigns in Connecticut gave some last-minute caution, noting
while “I certainly don’t expect him to run, I won’t really believe it
until I see it,” pointing out Lieberman’s reputation for
unpredictability. 

— This story was originally posted at 5:24 p.m.