HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Time is running short for Ned Lamont.

The Democratic challenger has about two weeks to catch three-term U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, who has pulled ahead to a 17-point lead since losing the Aug. 8 party primary and launching an independent campaign.

Lamont, a wealthy cable television executive, is scrambling to shake up an increasingly testy race that polls show is breaking in the Lieberman’s favor. Monday night’s third and final televised debate could offer a prime chance for a breakthrough.

“People have a real opportunity to see three candidates stand up, enunciate real differences about where this country should go,” Lamont said Friday while campaigning in Hartford. “That’s the best way to get our message out, through debates.”

Monday’s debate in New London presents a high-profile opportunity for Lamont to create a shift in the race’s momentum. Unlike the second debate last week that featured all five Senate candidates, only Lieberman, Lamont and Republican Alan Schlesinger will share the stage Monday. That could make it easier for Lamont to engage Lieberman more directly.

“We expect Ned Lamont may stoop to new lows in misrepresenting Joe Lieberman’s record in a desperate last-minute ploy,” Lieberman spokeswoman Tammy Sun said. “We’re looking forward to the debate as another opportunity for Joe Lieberman to showcase his ideas on how to move Connecticut forward.”

Schlesinger, considered a long shot, drew the spotlight by delivering feisty performances in the first two debates. But it is unclear how such attention will translate into support.

He was at 6 percent in the latest Quinnipiac University survey, which was conducted after Monday’s opening debate.

Lieberman and Schlesinger are vying for Republican support, so any Schlesinger gains could come at Lieberman’s expense. Lieberman drew much of the fire from his rivals in the first two debates.

The 18-year senator has widened his lead from 10 points last month, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll. The senator gained an edge with independent voters, the state’s largest voting bloc, and with men, the survey showed.

“It’s a steep uphill battle for Lamont to erase this substantial gap,” said Quinnipiac poll director Doug Schwartz. “He’s got to do something different, because what he’s been doing up to this point hasn’t been working. In fact, his numbers have been getting lower.”

If Lamont has any surprises planned in the closing days before the Nov. 7 election, he’s not showing his hand.

“More of the same and sticking to the issues, talking about how we mean to change things in Washington, D.C.,” Lamont said Friday. “People are beginning to pay attention to this campaign.”

Lamont, who has pumped $10.7 million of his own money into the race, is flooding the airwaves with a new ad campaign in the coming days to try to close the gap.

Lieberman, who enjoys a fundraising advantage, has accused Lamont of trying to buy the election with a $1 million barrage of new television commercials assailing him.

Lamont has hammered away at Lieberman in one heavily aired TV ad that accuses Lieberman of breaking a pledge when he first ran for Senate to serve just three terms. The spot features old footage of Lieberman from the 1988 race.

“What a difference 18 years makes,” Lamont said of Lieberman’s complaints. “Now, 18 years later, he’s whining that we’re talking about his record.”

Some prominent politicians, meanwhile, are flocking to the state as the race closes.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the Democratic 2004 presidential nominee, hopes to give Lamont a boost when he campaigns in the state with him on Wednesday. Lieberman will stump with former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Democrat, on the same day.

Kerry beat President Bush in Connecticut by 10 percentage points during the 2004 presidential contest.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., will host a fundraising event in New York on Sunday for Lamont, his campaign said.Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, speak at a news conference Friday, Oct. 20, 2006, in New London, Conn. Collins endorsed Lieberman, who is running as an independent against Ned Lamont. (AP Photo/Jack Sauer)