Joe Lieberman, a former Connecticut senator and vice-presidential candidate, passed away on March 27 at the age of 82.
The longtime Democrat-turned-independent politician served in both state and federal legislatures until he was more than 70 years old, stepping down from his career in politics in 2013. According to a statement released by his family, Lieberman died in New York City after suffering “complications from a fall.”
The statement added that “his beloved wife, Hadassah,” and other family members were with him at the time of his death. A funeral is scheduled for Friday, March 29, in his home town of Stamford, Connecticut.
Lieberman began his lengthy public service in 1970, when he was elected as a senator for the Connecticut state legislature. Shortly less than two decades later, he was elected to represent his state in Washington, D.C., becoming the first Orthodox Jew to serve in the United States Senate.
During the heated presidential race of 2000, Lieberman joined Al Gore as his vice-presidential running mate in the competition against George W. Bush. Gore ran for president after serving as former commander-in-chief Bill Clinton’s vice president from 1993 until 2001.
Despite his long tenure as a Democrat, Lieberman left the party in 2006 and continued to serve as an independent. For the past 10 years, the late senator was involved in the leadership of the third-party political organization No Labels.
Although he had said last year that the group had not made any final decisions about inserting a third candidate into the 2024 presidential race, the group announced earlier this month that they were hoping to sponsor a third-party candidate to throw into the likely rematch of Democratic President Joe Biden and former GOP president Donald Trump.
Lieberman’s death sparked messages of grief and condolences to be shared from both sides of the political spectrum, revealing an overarching respect that politicians from opposing parties had for the late senator. Following the announcement of his death, former vice president and presidential candidate Al Gore took to X to express his sorrow at the news.
Lieberman was described as “a man of deep integrity who dedicated his life to serving his country.”
I am profoundly saddened by the loss of Joe Lieberman. First and foremost, he was a man of devout faith and dedication to his family. My heart goes out to Hadassah, Hana, Matt, Rebecca, Ethan, his sisters, and all those grieving his loss.
Joe was a man of deep integrity who…
— Al Gore (@algore) March 28, 2024
Gore praised his colleague’s commitment to his grounding values and said that he was “honor[ed]” to have Lieberman beside him during his 2000 presidential campaign. He added that he will “remain forever grateful” for the late senator’s “tireless efforts to build a better future for America.”
