Ned Lamont's Victory in Connecticut Senate Primary is Leading Edge of 'Peace Voter' Campaign

SILVER SPRING, Maryland - August 9 - The victory of insurgent candidate Ned Lamont over staunchly pro-war Sen. Joe Lieberman in yesterday's Connecticut primary demonstrates the intense voter dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq - and the power of the pro-peace vote in this year's mid-term elections. Peace Action, the nation's largest grassroots peace organization (which endorsed Lamont), will mobilize that power this fall through its nationwide "Peace Voter 2006" campaign.

Peace Voter 2006 is a non-partisan, grassroots campaign designed to let voters know where candidates stand on a number of key foreign and domestic policy issues, including the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, the resumption of U.S. nuclear weapons testing, potential military intervention in Iran, federal budget priorities and the military's recruitment of young Americans.

"Both Democrats and Republicans need to realize the American public is not looking for politicians who posture about being "strong" or "tough" on foreign affairs," said Kevin Martin, Executive Director of Peace Action. "The electorate is looking for candidates who have clear ideas about solving our nation's problems, and the no. 1 problem to address is our government's disastrous military occupation of Iraq, which is now the defining issue of our time." Martin noted that Ned Lamont's strong belief in employing international cooperation over unilateral military action, as well as his call to re-prioritize domestic needs such as health care for all Americans, also helped him win in Connecticut - and that such a message will doubtless appeal to voters across the country.

The primary vehicle for Peace Voter 2006 will be the Peace Voter Guide, which will be distributed to 2.5 - 3 million voters nationwide. An example of the Peace Voter Guide, along with other supporting materials such as the candidate questionnaire (from which candidate positions are taken), can be found at http://www.peacevoter.org

Peace Action, a national organization with affiliates and chapters across the country, will be organizing Peace Voter campaigns in more than 40 key House and Senate races this fall, including highly competitive races in Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, California, Maryland, Ohio, Connecticut and New York. (A list of specific races will be posted in early September.)

The Peace Voter campaign is also aligned with the Peace Voter Pledge, a campaign enabling individual voters to sign a pledge to only support candidates who are calling for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. A copy of this pledge, which has so far been signed by over 85,000 people nationally, can also be found at http://www.peacevoter.org