Senate candidate Ned Lamont of Connecticut may be trailing in the polls, but he's got one of America's biggest celebrities going to bat for him: Paul Newman.

The actor appears in a new 30-second TV spot for Lamont, who is running for a Senate seat, the campaign announced yesterday.

"It's tough times out there, and Connecticut needs someone who is young, fresh and spunky," Newman, a longtime resident of Westport, Conn., urges voters. Lamont is 52. Incumbent Sen. Joseph Lieberman is 64.

Newman also recalls Lieberman's campaign in 1988 when he unseated former Sen. Lowell Weicker.

"Eighteen years ago, when Joe Lieberman was running against Lowell Weicker, Joe's battle cry was, '18 years is enough,' " Newman says. "I suppose Joe said that because he knew that after 18 years the good old boys club trumped good government. Voters should take your advice Joe, 18 years is enough. Vote for Ned Lamont."

Newman, in a radio ad for Lamont, also takes aim at Lieberman's decision to run as an independent after losing the August Democratic primary. Lieberman's independent bid has rankled many Democrats.

"When the voters in the primary chose Ned Lamont over Joe Lieberman, they were sending a message," Newman says. "But Mr. Lieberman wasn't listening. He turned his back on the very party that had supported him for 18 years. Entitlement - that's what 18 years in the Senate does to you."

The Lieberman campaign had no immediate response to the Newman ads.

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By ANDREW MIGA

The Associated Press