# 1988 United States Senate election in Connecticut

Elections in Connecticut :
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vte :
The 1988 United States Senate election in Connecticut took place on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker ran for re-election to a fourth term but was narrowly defeated by Democrat Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut Attorney General and eventual 2000 nominee for Vice President of the United States, who would remain in office until 2013. This is the last time a Connecticut Senator lost re-election.
Both Weicker and Lieberman would go on to win state-wide elections as independents respectively in 1990 for governor and in 2006 for Senate. Lieberman's swearing-in marked the first time since 1971 that Democrats held both Senate seats from Connecticut. Lieberman was at times considered to the right of Weicker, with him benefiting from the support of National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr., and his brother, former U.S. Senator from New York James L. Buckley, with William Buckley running columns in support of Lieberman.

## General election
### Candidates

* Joe Lieberman (D), Connecticut Attorney General
* Lowell P. Weicker Jr. (R), incumbent U.S. Senator since 1971
* Howard A. Grayson Jr. (L)
* Melissa M. Fisher (NAP)

### Debates

| Dates | Lieberman | Weicker | Link |
| October 22, 1988 | Participant | Participant | C-SPAN |

### Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of December 31, 1988 :
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Joe Lieberman (D) | $2,650,603 | $2,570,779 | $79,824 |
| Lowell Weicker (R) | $2,781,538 | $2,681,294 | $52,517 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission ||||

### Results

General election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Joe Lieberman | 688,499 | 49.91% |
| | Republican | Lowell Weicker (incumbent) | 677,903 | 49.15% |
| | Libertarian | Howard A. Grayson Jr. | 12,409 | 0.90% |
| | New Alliance | Melissa M. Fisher | 4,154 | 0.30% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,379,362 | 100.0% |
| | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican | Democratic gain from Republican |