That surprise day-before-the-election Quinnipiac University Poll turned out to be the harbinger of Gov. Dannel Malloy’s re-election,http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/How-Malloy-pulled-off-the-victory-5874196.phpshowing him with a three-point edge over Republican investor/Bush family friend Tom Foley from Greenwich. By early Wednesday, the three-point Malloy victory was confirmed, ending an aggressive, in-your-face-campaign complete with seven head-to-head meetings between Foley and Malloy, including a prophetic “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots” showdown won by Malloy Monday on WPLR radio. The
Quinnipiac Poll (director Doug Schwartz, left, photo by Dixon)- don’t call it the Q Poll, there’s been too much spent in branding the Polling Institute – also had the presence of mind to include questions anticipating that gunslinger petitioning candidate Joe Visconti of West Hartford would eventually drop out. “We work very hard at getting it right,” Schwartz said in an interview this morning. Although the conservative contractor and former actor promised to stay in the race until the bitter end to acknowledge his 10,000 petition signers, he bellied up just a few days before the election, confirming that after all, he staged a vanity candidacy. Visconti ended up with 11,386 votes, only 6,000 fewer than Tom Marsh, the third-party candidate from 2010, who remained in the race and took his Election Day medicine.
This came from the Foley (bus photo by Dixon) camp this morning:
“Friend,
Thank you for your support with my campaign for governor. We came very close. Our appeal for change in Connecticut – pro-growth policies including lower taxes, more responsible spending, and more support for job creators – was endorsed by more than 48% of Connecticut voters. Governor Malloy won this election with fewer votes than we won in 2010.
All of you worked very hard and I am proud of what we were able to get done. We reached out to voters all across the state where families are hurting from three decades of policies that have diminished Connecticut’s future. 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.
Heartfelt thanks to all of our volunteers who supported me with your contributions, time, sweat, and uplifting enthusiasm. I regret that I will not be able to deliver the dream you and I share for restoring pride and prosperity in Connecticut.
We are part of a great democracy – the United States of America. We choose our leaders through the democratic process. I am privileged to have participated in that process. 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.
Thank you.
Tom”
Photo by Autumn Driscoll, Hearst
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