Twelve years after exploding onto the political stage with a shocking upset over a sitting senator, businessman Ned Lamont on Tuesday took a new step toward a political victory that has so far eluded him.

Connecticut Democrats on Tuesday chose Lamont to be their nominee for governor. With 10 percent of the vote in, Lamont held 85 percent of the vote, The Associated Press projected. Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim (D) trailed with 15 percent.

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Lamont used his ability to fund his own campaign to chase several other prominent candidates out of the race, including Susan Bysiewicz, the former secretary of state who opted to become Lamont's running mate.

Lamont will start out the favorite in the sprint to November when he will face businessman Bob Stefanowski, who won the Republican primary on Tuesday.

But Republicans believe they have a shot at making inroads in Connecticut, thanks in no small part to the man leaving the governor's mansion. Gov. Dan Malloy (D) has narrowly won two terms in office, though his approval ratings may be lower than any other incumbent governor in the country.

Republicans hold half of the 36 seats in the Connecticut state Senate. Democrats only control the upper chamber because of Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman's (D) tie-breaking vote.

Lamont's political career began in 2006, when he challenged former Sen. Joe Lieberman, then a Democrat, over Lieberman's support for the war in Iraq. Lamont beat Lieberman in the Democratic primary by about 3 percentage points — but Lieberman won the general election, as an independent candidate, by about 10 percentage points.

Four years later, Lamont ran for an open governorship, but lost the Democratic primary to Malloy by 15 points.