Former Senator Has Died

(USNewsBreak.com) – Many politicians make their mark when they serve Congress, whether by crafting legislation or making what they feel are the right moves, even if those policies are unpopular at the time. Former Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) followed both paths, a trailblazer who wasn’t afraid to go against his party when times called for it. However, he passed away on Wednesday, March 27.

According to a statement from his family, Lieberman died at the age of 82 as a result of “complications from a fall.” His family surrounded him as he passed.

Lieberman’s political history began in 1970, when he unseated Ed Marcus, the Connecticut state Senate’s majority leader, as a Yale graduate. He later attributed his win to a Yale law student, Bill Clinton, who helped pave the way to victory. Lieberman would go on to condemn Clinton for his affair with Monica Lewinsky. After winning in 1970, he spent 10 years in the state senate, including six as majority leader, then became Connectcut’s first full-time state attorney general before heading to the US Senate.

Joe Lieberman, 2000 vice presidential nominee, dies at 82 https://t.co/HRp1eIUsBY

— POLITICO (@politico) March 27, 2024

The former senator enjoyed many successes in the Upper Chamber, including leading the passage of initiatives to eliminate certain content in video games and later working as part of the team that created the Department of Homeland Security following the 9/11 attacks. He was also instrumental in passing the Affordable Care Act and cast the deciding vote.

In 2000, he joined Al Gore on the presidential ticket as his running mate, becoming the first Jewish candidate to sit on a major party ticket. The Florida hanging chads controversy plagued that election, and the duo lost to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Undeterred, Lieberman sought the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination but eventually withdrew his name from consideration. Despite supporting Senator John McCain in the 2008 election and voting a centrist position for the most part, he endorsed Democrats in 2016 and 2020.