Sunday morning Arriana Huffington was on CNN pontificating about the Connecticut Primary and other events.
She continued to blast Joe Lieberman for running as an independent and called his actions unprecedented – losing a Primary and continuing to run.
Now in my last post, I pointed to at least one precedent – Mario Cuomo in 1977 who continued his campaign for Mayor against Primary winner Ed Koch as the candidate of the Liberal Party and a party his campaign created – Neighborhood Preservation Party.
But in honor of Arianna, I decided to jog my memory to find more precedents and to see how those who “turned on their Party” were punished.
Most famously, in 1969, NYC Mayor John Lindsay lost the Republican Primary for re-election. He ran and won as the candidate of the Liberal Party and another party that he created (like Cuomo & Lieberman) which name I don’t recall.
After his re-election Lindsay was estranged from the Republican Party, remaining a Republican in name only until 1971 when he became a Democrat.
Now onto some losers –
In 1977, Manhattan City Councilman Bob Wagner, Jr. lost the Democratic Primary for Borough President. He ran a full campaign in November as the candidate of the Republican and Liberal Parties.
Wagner never ran for office again and served as Chair of the NY City Planning Commission and then Deputy Mayor to Ed Koch.
In 1980, Republican Senator Jacob Javits lost his Primary but stayed in and campaigned as the Liberal Party candidate.
Javits never ran for office again but remained a loyal Republican.
In 1981, Assemblyman, Frank Barbaro after losing his Democratic Party challenge to Mayor Ed Koch campaigned as the candidate of his created Unity Party.
Barbaro stayed a Democrat in the Assembly, kept his Committee Chairmanship and was nominated by the Brooklyn Democratic Party for a State Supreme Court Judgeship.
In 1985, City Council President Carol Bellamy lost the Primary for Mayor against Koch and stayed in the race as the Liberal candidate.
Bellamy ran in 1990 as the Democratic-Liberal candidate for State Comptroller with a united Democratic Party behind her. After losing, she was appointed Director of the Peace Corps by Democratic President Bill Clinton.
We do have to go outside the City to find losing Primary candidates who joined Lindsay as November winners.
In 1977, State Senator Jimmy Griffin ran in and lost the Democratic Primary for Buffalo Mayor. He stayed in the General Election contest and won as the Conservative and Right to Life Party candidates and subsequently won re-election twice as a Democratic.
Most recently in 2002, Westchester Assemblyman Ron Tocci lost the Democratic Primary for re-election but continued as the Republican candidate! Tocci won the General, announced that he was still a Democrat and was accepted back by Speaker Shelly Silver and retained his committee assignments. He did not run for re-election in 2004 and was given a patronage job by Republican Governor Pataki,
In other words, what would really be unprecendented would be if Democrats like Harry Reid punished Lieberman and refused to allow him to sit in the Democratic caucus if he wins.