Foley projects confidence in final hours of voting

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley poses for a photo with Matthew Bilotta, a GOP primary voter and diesel mechanic, outside John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury, Conn., Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014. Taking the photo is Foley's son, Tom Foley Jr.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley poses for a photo with Matthew Bilotta, a GOP primary voter and diesel mechanic, outside John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury, Conn., Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014. Taking the photo is Foley’s son, Tom Foley Jr.

WATERBURY — Republican gubernatorial contender Tom Foley, making his final public appearance before the polls close at 8 p.m., dismissed theories that low turnout helps his GOP primary opponent, John McKinney.

“I don’t think turnout is going to change the result,” Foley told Hearst Connecticut Media outside John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury Tuesday evening.

Foley visited polling locations earlier in the day in Trumbull and Oxford before making multiple stops in Southington, where his campaign headquarters is located.

While a high turnout would have been emblematic of voter engagement, Foley said, the low turnout could be a byproduct that Republicans the outcome of the primary race is inevitable.

Foley, who came within 6,400 votes of winning the governorship in 2010, assailed Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for comments the incumbent made earlier in the afternoon on a White House conference call warning that Republicans will roll back minimum wage and paid sick leave reforms.

“It’s interesting that Governor Malloy is talking about things that don’t have anything to do with the economy or the burden he’s placed on families,” Foley said.

Neil Vigdor