Foley Weighs Run for Governor's Race

Tom Foley, who narrowly lost the Connecticut governor’s race to Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy in 2010, is considering entering the gubernatorial race in 2014.

Foley, a Republican, announced this morning at the Burroughs Community Center in Bridgeport and said he will form an exploratory committee.

"I know some of you who are not used to being pulled away from the capitol for a political announcement are wondering why I am holding this press conference in Bridgeport.   Well, it’s not because I was going to be here anyway looking one last time for that missing bag full of 7,000 Foley votes …or that I am here registering my two year olds to vote in 2014.  And although I am a forgiving person, it is not forgiveness that brings me here," he said in a statement released on Tuesday morning.

You can read his full remarks online here.

The state Democratic party responded soon after Foley's annoucement.

“To read Tom Foley’s speech is like reading Alice in Wonderland.  It’s interesting, but it’s also untrue.  It kind of reminds me of Mr. Foley’s 2010 campaign, when he proposed eliminating a $3.5 billion budget deficit with $2 billion in cuts, many of them ones that had no chance of being achieved," Jonathan Harris, executive director of the State Democratic Party, said in a statement.

State senate Republican leader John McKinney has announced he will run. Republicans state senator Toni Boucher and Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton are also considering running.

Kenneth Long, a political science professor at the University of St. Joseph, said last month that Foley has a better chance of beating Malloy than he did in 2010 if he becomes the GOP's nominee, mainly because Linda McMahon won't be on the same ballot.

A Quinnipiac Poll released in June showed Foley besting potential Republican primary rivals McKinney, Boughton and House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero Jr. The same poll gave Foley a slight edge over Malloy, with the potential challenger leading the incumbent governor 43 percent to 40 percent.

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