Lieberman re-elected to US Senate as independent-TV

HARTFORD, Conn, Nov 8 (Reuters) US Sen. Joseph Lieberman won re-election to a fourth term rebounding as an independent after his support for the Iraq war cost him the backing of the Democratic Party.

US television networks ABC and NBC projected that Lieberman beat Ned Lamont, who had won the Democratic nomination over Lieberman in an August primary election, and Republican Alan Schlesinger.

''We are very encouraged but we are not taking anything for granted , '' said Tammy Sun, press secretary for the Lieberman campaign yesterday. ''We are waiting for the real results to come in. This race has been volatile from the beginning.'' Lieberman is an 18-year veteran of the Senate and was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000 but many Democrats abandoned him in favour of Lamont, who ran on an anti-Iraq-war platform.

Lamont, a wealthy businessman and political outsider, capitalised on growing public discontent over the war in Democratic-leaning Connecticut.

Polls had shown Lieberman with a comfortable lead over Lamont for most of the race since the primary. A Reuters/Zogby poll last week indicated Lieberman would take 49 per cent of the vote, 12 percentage points ahead of Lamont, who then had 37 percent of the vote.

Lieberman, 64, faced vocal opposition from fellow party members for his decision to run on his own. But he said he would remain a Democrat and would muster with party members if re-elected. That pledge could prove critical for a party that is seeking to retake a majority in Congress.

During the campaign Lamont portrayed Lieberman as too close to President George W. Bush for a Democrat, frequently referring to a kiss that Bush appeared to plant on Lieberman after his 2005 State of the Union address.

Lieberman in November 2005 wrote a Wall Street Journal opinion piece called ''Our Troops Must Stay,'' in which he argued the United States might not be able to start reducing its military presence in Iraq until late 2006 or 2007. But, he wrote, ''It is also likely that our presence will need to be significant in Iraq or nearby for years to come.'' REUTERS PB VC0929