U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman's lead over anti-war challenger Ned Lamont has narrowed to a razor-thin margin, two polls showed on Wednesday.

The 2000 vice presidential candidate lost the Democratic primary vote in Connecticut to Lamont this month, but is running for re-election as an independent in a contest that has exposed deep divisions over the unpopular Iraq war.

Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) boards his campaign bus after voting in the democratic primary in New Haven, Connecticut, August 8, 2006. Lieberman's lead over anti-war challenger Ned Lamont has narrowed to a razor-thin margin, two polls showed on Wednesday. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

An American Research Group poll conducted Thursday through Monday said the race was a statistical tie, putting Lieberman's support among 790 likely voters at 44 percent versus 42 percent for Lamont, a political novice and wealthy cable TV executive.

Republican Alan Schlesinger, a former state legislator, had 3 percent. The poll had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

Another poll of 500 likely voters by Rasmussen Reports showed Lieberman's lead over Lamont narrowing to two points, 45 percent to 43 percent, from five points in an August 12 poll. Its margin of error was 4.5 percentage points.

The pollster said the gain was too insignificant to indicate a trend.

Both surveys showed Lamont gaining ground on the three-term senator since a Quinnipiac University poll last week that put Lieberman's lead at 12 percentage points.

"The new poll does confirm that Lieberman remains very much in the running, that the race is close, and that Schlesinger can't win, but he may well tip the balance," Rasmussen said.

On Wednesday, Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz said Lieberman had gathered enough voter signatures to stand as an independent on the November ballot.

The race has attracted national attention for its emphasis on the war and Democratic anger at Bush. Lamont cast the race as a referendum on the war and urged voters to send a message to Bush and the Democratic establishment that was slow to embrace calls for a quick pullout of troops.

Lieberman has fought back, emphasizing his Democratic credentials and calling himself a reliable opponent of Bush's domestic agenda.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited

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