Eko Hot Blog reports that Former U.S. Senator and Democratic Party vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman passed away on Wednesday at the age of 82 in New York City, following complications from a fall, as announced by his family.
“His beloved wife, Hadassah, and members of his family were with him when he passed,” the statement said. “Senator Lieberman’s love of God, his family and America endured throughout his life of service in the public interest.”
Lieberman, the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee in the 2000 election, lost to Republican George W. Bush despite running alongside Democrat Al Gore. He made history as the first Jewish candidate on a major party presidential ticket in the U.S.
However, his bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination faltered due to his stance in support of the Iraq War.
Joe was a man of deep integrity who dedicated his life to serving his country. He was a truly gifted leader, whose affable personality and strong will made him a force to be reckoned with,” Gore said in a statement.
“That’s why it came as no surprise to any of us who knew him when he’d start singing his favorite song: Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way.’ And doing things Joe’s way meant always putting his country and the values of equality and fairness first,” Gore said.
A centrist, Lieberman was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1988. He lost the state’s Democratic primary in 2006, but retained his seat by winning the general election as an independent candidate.
Further distancing himself from the Democratic Party, Lieberman delivered a speech endorsing Republican Senator John McCain for president at the 2008 Republican National Convention.
But Lieberman would later back Democrats Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020 in their bids for the presidency.
Lieberman retired from the Senate in 2013 after four six-year terms.
“Joe was as fine an American as they come and one of the most decent people I met during my time in Washington,” Republican former President George W. Bush said in a statement.
Recently, Lieberman has been at the helm of No Labels, a centrist organization aiming to initiate an outsider campaign for the White House.
In a recent interview with Reuters, Lieberman described the endeavor as akin to constructing a plane while in flight.
“We’re doing something that I think hasn’t been done before. We are on the ground getting on the ballot and going to let a candidate emerge and take on the rest,” Lieberman said.
“That’s quite different. So, frankly, there was no choice but to build a plane and fly it while it was being built. And I’m very grateful to how far we’ve come under those circumstances,” he said.
With a law degree from Yale Law School, Lieberman transitioned from serving as a member of the Connecticut State Senate and later as attorney general of Connecticut before his tenure as a U.S. senator.
Lieberman had three children from two marriages; his first marriage ended in divorce.
Lieberman’s funeral was set for Friday in his hometown of Stamford, Connecticut.
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