Battered by slings and arrows from fellow Democrats, Senator Joseph Lieberman now lags ten points behind the man challenging him for the Democratic nomination. The latest Rasmussen Reports poll of Connecticut’s Democratic Primary shows Ned Lamont leading Lieberman 51% to 41%.

That’s a significant difference from last month when Lieberman led 46% to 40%.

As the Democratic nominee, Lieberman would likely crush the Republican opponent (see our general-election story on Connecticut's Senate race). But Lieberman has been targeted by members of his own party angered by his support for the war in Iraq.

Lieberman's weakness is no surprise to regular visitors of the Rasmussen Reports site. We first noted it last December, when we polled about a possible Lowell Weicker run for the Senate seat. Weicker, then considering a campaign as an Independent, said he was doing so because of the incumbent's pro-war stance. With no Republican yet in the mix, the former governor garnered 32% support to Lieberman's 54%, and was tied with Lieberman among liberals most concerned about the war.

Among liberal Democrats, Lieberman attracts only 20% support, whereas Lamont attracts 67%.

Lieberman is viewed more favorably by all voters than is Lamont, but Lamont enjoys a clear edge with Democrats. Forty-nine percent (49%) of Democrats view the incumbent favorably; 67% view Lamont favorably.

Only 12% of Democrats approve of George W. Bush's performance as President; 85 % disapprove.

Senator Lieberman has filed a petition to run as an Independent should he fail to secure the Democratic nomination. The state's primaries are held August 8.

The sample for this survey is based upon a subset of a larger survey of 1,000 likely voters. The 286 Democrats included in this sample are those considered most likely to vote. This represents nearly 29% of all who are considered likely to vote in the general election. However, the percentage who will actually participate in the primary is likely to be smaller than 29% of all general election voters. It is impossible to determine with any precision who will actually vote in the primary election. Get-out- the vote organizational efforts can have a significant impact on final vote totals.

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