HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Republican voters in the 1st Congressional District overwhelmingly chose Scott MacLean over Miriam Massulo for the right to challenge Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. John Larson in November.

MacLean garnered 63 percent of the vote, just fewer than 2,000 votes, compared to 37 percent for Miriam Masullo.

Larson, who seeks a fifth term, is widely seen as a tough candidate to unseat in the strongly Democratic district.

MacLean, a television producer and ordained minister who lives in East Hartland, describes himself as a moderate Republican.

He said he believes in reaching across the political aisle for compromise on certain issues for the higher good.

He said he was heartened by Sen. Joe Lieberman’s pledge to run as an independent in November’s election after losing the primary to Lamont.

“It’s amazing the partisanship that holds Washington in gridlock,” MacLean said. “It’s just a disgrace to our country. I’m a moderate, Joe Lieberman is a moderate. John Larson is a very partisan guy. I think we’re ready for a new sense of working across the aisle.”

Masullo, a computer scientist who lives in New Canaan, hews close to traditional Republican creed on issues such as small government and limited taxation.

She won the Republican party nomination in 2002 to run for Larson’s seat, but Hartford lawyer Phil Steele defeated her in a primary election.

This year, the party endorsed MacLean at its nominating convention, but Masullo said several GOP supporters urged her to mount a primary challenge.

State law allowed Masullo and others to run for federal office in districts even if they do not live there, as long as they are legal Connecticut residents.

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A FATHER’S GRIEF: Carlos Arredondo of Boston made it a point to park his pickup truck in front of the Goodwin Hotel in Hartford where U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman’s supporters gathered Tuesday night.

His son, Marine Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo, was killed in Iraq two years ago. Arredondo drove around Connecticut on Monday and Tuesday with a casket draped with an American flag in the back of his truck. His 20-year-old son’s boots and uniform were on top of the casket, which was filled with his son’s childhood toys.

Arredondo, a Democrat, singled out Lieberman because of the three-term senator’s support for the war.

“I hope (Lieberman) will lose tonight because he will give an example to the rest of the Senate,” Arredondo said.

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BLOGGING AWAY: Ned Lamont’s Senate campaign was energized by members of the online community during his five-month campaign, so they were duly rewarded with rare media access at the challenger’s primary night party in Meriden Tuesday.

About 30 bloggers set up shop in their own press room to cover Lamont’s campaign, which was supported by many liberal bloggers who helped Lamont raise money and saw the race as their best chance to take a bigger role in the Democratic Party.

“I think this race has been really energized by bloggers,” Lamont spokeswoman Liz Dupont-Diehl said. “They’ve been a great resource for us, because it’s this core of people who are so interested in the race and the outcome.”

Lamont challenged three-term incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Bob Geiger, a blogger for Democrats.com, Alternate and Huffington Post, drove from New York to Connecticut for primary night. “This is sort of the epicenter of American politics, for tonight, at least.”

Then former Democratic activist Jesse Jackson walked in the blogger press room – and the interview was over. “Hold on,” Geiger said. “I’ve got to write about this.”

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INTERNATIONAL INTEREST: The primary between Sen. Joe Lieberman and upstart challenger Ned Lamont drew interest well beyond U.S. boundaries. Al-Jazeera television, the Arabic news channel with 40 million worldwide viewers, also covered the race.

Al-Jazeera chief correspondent Mohammed Alami was among the crush of media at Lieberman’s headquarters in Hartford Tuesday night.

“Senator Lieberman is very well known in the Middle East,” Alami said.

He said many in the Middle East were surprised by the lack of dissent in Washington, D.C., for the war in Iraq. Lieberman supported the resolution to go to war, which became the divisive issue between him and Lamont. Alami said this is one of the few times that a Middle East issue has influenced a race in the United States.

The result of the Connecticut primary was to be fourth or fifth on Al-Jazeera’s list of stories to air. It took a back seat to the war.

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TRAFFIC JAM: The national interest in the Connecticut primary took its toll on technology in the state.

The Web site for the secretary of the state’s office, which offered real-time election results, was bogged down by so many hits that it slowed to a crawl. In some cases, users got a system error.

“Because our Web site is getting so many inquiries from all over the country and all over the world, our server is simply overwhelmed,” spokesman Dan Tapper said.

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ON THE AIR: The Rev. Al Sharpton stumped several days for Ned Lamont. On Tuesday, he broadcast his nationally syndicated talk show “Keepin’ it Real” from WKND-AM in Windsor in an effort to get more black voters to turn out at the polls.

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Associated Press reporters Susan Haigh and Cara Rubinsky in Meriden contributed to this report.

AP-ES-08-09-06 0026EDT