HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean delivered a strong endorsement of Ned Lamont Friday, even as a new poll shows the Greenwich businessman trailing U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman by 17 points with less than three weeks until Election Day.

“No one was going to stand up over the Iraq policy until Ned stood up and then the people stood up because Ned was a great leader,” Dean said at a rally for Lamont and other Democratic candidates at a downtown sports bar.

“We need Ned Lamont.”

Dean’s appearance came as a new poll showed Lieberman leading Greenwich businessman Lamont 52 percent to 35 percent among likely voters. Lieberman is running as an independent after Lamont rode a wave of anti-war sentiment to an Aug. 8 Democratic primary victory.

According to the poll, released Friday by Quinnipiac University, Republican Alan Schlesinger trailed with 6 percent and 7 percent were undecided. A similar poll released Sept. 28 showed Lieberman with a 10-point lead.

Despite the poll, Dean, one of Lieberman’s rivals in the 2004 presidential primaries, was anything but somber Friday.

“Your state has done something extraordinary,” he said. “Your state had a courageous person step up when nobody thought he could win and take on folks who supported the Bush policy.”

Some Democrats have been more muted in their support for Lamont. Should Lieberman, the party’s 2000 vice presidential candidate, keep his seat, Democrats will likely need the three-term senator’s vote in a closely divided Senate.

Others have been more public. On Friday, the Lamont campaign unveiled a television advertisement featuring popular Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, eyeing a possible 2008 presidential bid, will campaign with Lamont next week.

The poll released Friday was the first since Lieberman and Lamont faced off Monday in a debate. Among those who watched the debate or read or heard about it, only 3 percent said it changed their mind about whom they will vote for.

Lamont’s campaign took issue with the poll results, saying the poll bordered on the irresponsible because it surveyed voters before a second debate broadcast Thursday night in which staffers believe Lamont turned in a strong performance.

“The polls go up, the polls go down,” Lamont said at a press conference. “We’ve got two-and-a-half weeks to go. We’re going flat out around the state. People are beginning to pay attention to this campaign.”

The poll suggested that Lieberman’s support among Republicans and independent voters was substantial.

“The 17 percent margin in the Quinnipiac Poll that is out today makes me feel deeply grateful to the people of Connecticut for the support they are giving me across party lines, responding to the record of results I brought to the state,” said Lieberman, who was in New London Friday to talk about port security.

He was endorsed there by moderate Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who said she has never backed a Democrat.

“I’m doing it in this case because I feel so strongly that there are certain leaders and certain issues that transcend partisan politics and requires us to work across party lines, and Joe Lieberman is that leader and homeland security is that issue,” Collins said.

Lieberman leads Lamont 70 to 9 percent among likely Republican voters, with 18 percent for Schlesinger, and 58 to 32 percent among likely independent voters, while likely Democratic voters back Lamont 55 to 36 percent.

Schlesinger, who believes his strong debate performances have changed the dynamics of the race, said strangers have been telling him they support him. He is running without strong support from Republicans.

“I don’t know if they polled Massachusetts residents or perhaps they confused the names of Lieberman and Schlesinger in this particular poll, but I have to question it,” he said. “Because, I’ll tell you, my race right now is so different than it was last week that I can’t tell you the difference in the response.”

The poll of 881 likely Connecticut voters was conducted from Oct. 17-19. It has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

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Associated Press Writers Susan Haigh in Hartford and Shelley K. Wong in New London contributed to this report.

AP-ES-10-20-06 1608EDT