Another empty chair at the GOP gubernatorial forum tonight. Folks, meet Senate Minority Leader John McKinney of Fairfield

Empty chairs will outnumber Republican governor candidates tonight during the scheduled forum at 6 p.m. in the Hartford Public Library. With the suspension (with the intend to end his bid) this afternoon of Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton’s candidacy, along with convention-endorsed Tom Foley’s front-runner plan to give the event a miss, Senate Minority Leader John McKinney of Fairfield may well be the only candidate to show up. So for the first time in recent Connecticut political history, a gubernatorial debate might become a meet-and-greet event for McKinney.