The Connecticut gubernatorial race is too close to call officially, but Democrat Governor Dan Malloy has declared victory.
With 91 percent of precincts reporting, Malloy has a 3-point lead, amounting to almost 22,000 votes. The outstanding precincts are considered Malloy-friendly territory.
Even Foley said early this morning, “We’re actually pretty sure we’ve lost the race.” Foley is still reviewing the numbers before he concedes.
Foley had an edge in the polls a few weeks before the election, but Malloy gained ground in the last few polls, though they still remained within the margin of error.
Unaffiliated conservative candidate Joe Visconti pulled out of the race on Sunday and backed Foley. But Visconti’s name still appeared on the ballot, and he garnered 10,000 votes and counting.
Earlier Tuesday, the race generated headlines when a judge extended voting hours by 30 minutes at two polling locations in Hartford. Democrats pushed the judge to keep the polls open an hour longer in the liberal stronghold. Poll workers were missing voter registration lists when the polls first opened.
Missing voter rolls weren’t the only issue. Some residents in Naugatuck were given ballots from 2012.
In the Constitution State, all five Democratic incumbent U.S. House representatives won reelection.
Malloy was one of just a handful of officials Obama campaigned with in this election cycle.
In 2010, Malloy and Foley also faced off for what was then an open seat, and Foley lost by 0.5 percent, or just 6,404 votes.
The Republican wave was strong this year, but it looks like it didn’t sweep up Foley.
UPDATE: In an email to supporters, Foley thanks his backers and admits defeat:
“We did not win, but we were on the field and fought a good game. Our ideas will be on citizens’ minds as our leaders steer us forward. You will have an opportunity to fight for those ideas again.”
Foley notes his improvement in cities from 2010, but blames negative ads for lower turnout in his key towns:
“We did significantly better in our cities than in 2010. Net vote counts in Bridgeport increased 1,634, New Haven 1,098, and Hartford 591. But we lost ground from 2010 in the many towns across Connecticut where relentless negative advertising kept voters at home.”
