Sen. John Kerry is ready to join an exclusive club: prominent Democrats shunning three-term Sen. Joe Lieberman to campaign in Connecticut for his anti-war rival Ned Lamont.

The Massachusetts senator, the party's 2004 presidential nominee, plans to travel to the state Oct. 25 for Lamont. Kerry's running mate, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, appeared at a Lamont rally last month.

Other top Democrats, however, have tacitly backed Lamont, who seized the Democratic nomination from Lieberman in last month's primary, but have avoided public displays of support. The rationale is simple: Lieberman is running as an independent and has a good shot of winning another term; a statewide poll released Thursday showed him up by 10 percentage points.

Democrats want to stay in Lieberman's good graces to ensure that he remains on their side.