Republican Tom Foley conceded the Connecticut governor's race on Wednesday afternoon to incumbent Governor Dannel Malloy.
In an email to supporters, Foley said his campaign came close, but did not succeed in its effort to unseat the Democrat. Read the email at the bottom of this post.
With 95 percent of precincts reporting on Wednesday afternoon, Malloy was leading with 50.5 percent of teh vote compared to 48.5 percent for Foley. The two had been in a tight race for months, with Foley looking to average his narrow loss to Malloy in 2010.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, just before 1:00 am, Foley told a crowd gathered at a campaign party in Greenwich, "We probably have lost this race." He refused to concede at the time.
"This is pretty plain math," Foley said. "We have forecasted the towns and parts of cities that haven't yet reported, and it looks to me like our projections are accurate. We probably have not won this race, but we're not going to make that final decision until we've confirmed all the numbers."
Foley made the announcement during a campaign party in Greenwich. He also criticized Governor Malloy's handling of the night's election results. Malloy declared victory minutes before Foley came out to speak,
"The way that this is supposed to work," Foley said, "is when you have firm numbers, and you know you've lost the race, you're supposed to call the winner and congratulate him, but he never gave me a chance."
Several prominent Republican leaders came to Foley's election party, including outgoing state Senator John McKinney, and departing House Minority Leader Larry Cafero.
Despite Foley's apparent loss, Cafero said the overall campaign was more effective than 2010 because Republicans stuck together. "I carry these Popsicle sticks around, and they're symbolic," he said. "When we stick together, we can't be broken. And that's what we did. We stuck together with our message. We watched each other's back. We did not try to trash a fellow Republican. We worked as a team. When you do that, you do it from strength."
Foley also thanked his running mate, Heather Somers, saying, "She's somebody who has a future" in Connecticut politics.
Below is the text of Foley's concession email sent Wednesday afternoon:
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
Listen to Foley on WNPR's Where We Live the morning after the election:
This report includes information from The Associated Press.
