Rush & Molloy
The $$$enate race: Who backed who
U.S. Senate hopeful Ned Lamont definitely scored an overall coup in his faceoff against Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman Tuesday. But who won the fight for the richest and most fabulous campaign contributors?
Lieberman, who was Al Gore's running mate in 2000, lost his fourth Senate bid 52% to 48% in the Democratic primary, despite hefty donations, as Connecticut voters rejected his support for the war in Iraq.
Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen gave Lieberman $1,000, while Yahoo honcho Lloyd Braun kicked in $500.
Fellow Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and N.J. Gov. Jon Corzine gave $1,000 each, as did J.Crew CEO Millard Drexler. Trust-busting superlawyer David Boies also threw Lieberman a grand.
And Joe tapped into some big sports money, with $4,000 coming from Major League Baseball top corporate honcho Bob DuPuy and $2,100 from tennis ace Andre Agassi.
Still, as far as high-profile backers, it was game-set-match, Lamont.
The peace-talking banking heir, whose net worth has been estimated at $90 million to $300 million, came to the end of the primary with contributions from Paul Newman ($2,100), Barbra Streisand ($1,000), George Soros ($1,000), Rosie O'Donnell ($500), Jackson Browne ($500), Janeane Garofalo ($250) and director Richard Donner ($500).
But as Lieberman pledges to continue his bid, Jane Condon is hedging her bets. The standup comic gave $500 to Lamont and $250 to Lieberman.