Obama’s Final Push For Dan Malloy

With only one more day until the election it appears that the incumbent Dan Malloy has taken a small but prevalent lead against challenger Tom Foley. According to a recent poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, Malloy leads 47% to Foley’s 44%. As of now 7% of unaffiliated voters remain undecided.  If history was to repeat itself it seems that once again Foley may fall short of beating the incumbent Dan Malloy. This past weekend Malloy got the rally that was promised to him by President Obama. As many people remember, the rally was supposed to happen weeks ago but the President had to cancel due to the Ebola crisis.

But it seems the rally being pushed back was a blessing in disguise.

With the race being so tight it is imperative that both parties have high turnout from their bases. During the midterm elections the most important aspect is getting people to want to vote. There are always fewer turnouts for these types of elections and no party is immune to this. But the rally hosted by President Obama for Dan Malloy was aimed at Obama praising Malloy’s record and to ultimately get the base rallied up to want to vote on Election Day.

Obama said to the crowd, “time is of the essence, Malloy only won by four votes per precinct last year, don’t let anyone tell you your vote doesn’t count.”

The crowd of nearly 2,000 Democrats went wild when Obama said this very powerful statement. During the midterms it is hard to get people to see the significance of the elections, but in a race as close as this one both candidates were able to continuously convey the importance of people’s attendance at the polls Election Day. It remains unseen whether Obama’s endorsement will make a major difference come Election Day, but we will have the results of both men’s tireless efforts in a few short days.

TURNOUT OR WHAT …?

By: Lauren Brown

The race is only a few days away and Tom Foley and Dan Malloy are still in a dead heat. It’s been four years but has anything really changed? The state of Connecticut is once again dealing with same two candidates and the people still cannot make up their minds. In a race like this one gaining the support of swing voters and Independents are the most important way to win the election.

But have these people been convinced?

This race has only become more complicated with the news this weekend that Joe Visconti the Independent running in the election has withdrawn and given his full support to Foley. We were expecting to see a shift in the polls because of this but to many Foley supporters’ dismay, Visconti followers are now supporting Malloy. Although this may seem odd since Visconti gave his support to Foley, historically most independents lean Democratic.

As it has been stated time and time again this race is just as close as it was four years ago, which is a major reason why many people are turned off by the election this year. Many unaffiliated voters do not care for either candidate, which is causing many to wonder if these people are going to show up on Election Day. Sometimes not voting sends just as much of a message as voting does.

In the race four years ago Malloy won by a small margin thanks to his Independent supporters, and it seems that once again he might pull ahead with Visconti’s withdrawal. If the Independents and unaffiliated voters do show up they can sway the race whichever way they want too since with both candidates bases rallied they are still in a dead heat.

With only a few days till the election this will be something to keep an eye on.

Ebola and the Governors Race in Connecticut

By: Lauren Brown

In a campaign one of the most important tools an incumbent can use are his endorsements. Typically, you try to use them in the beginning of the race to discourage other candidates from wanting to run. But sometimes it can be useful to save your endorsements for later in the race when you need a little extra something to capture the attention of your constituents. In Connecticut a typically (but not always blue state), President Obama’s name is not as disregarded as it may be in other red leaning states. Governor Dan Malloy has been endorsed by President Obama and was scheduled to have a rally with him this past week.

But this all came to a halt when the Ebola virus reportedly claimed another health care worker in Texas.

Many people, especially Republicans have slammed the President for not taking this threat serious enough and for not acting quickly to stop the virus from spreading from West Africa. In an effort to prove that he does in fact take this seriously he was forced to cancel a campaign endorsement appearance in Connecticut and New Jersey. In a race as close as this one, especially where it has been reported that the governor is trailing, this appearance could be crucial to his success.

Obama’s people have said that he will still be making his trip to Connecticut sometime before the election. It will be interesting to see if the polls are affected by the Presidents appearance with the governor.

On the Run

By: Lauren Brown

With the election getting closer and closer many people in Connecticut are starting to wonder what they have really learned from both Dan Malloy and Tom Foley. According to one political scientist from Quinnipiac University, many people feel that the whole election period has been a race for both of these men to define their opposition. With only two weeks till the election the people of Connecticut are starting to realize most of the efforts put forward by both men have been to attack each other on their records and performances.

But is this effective campaigning?

Sadly, yes. Both men have continuously attacked each other since day one, and the polling numbers for both are still up. This race is extremely close, just like it was in 2010. In recent polls the state is pretty evenly split between who to vote for. At this point the bases have rallied for their candidate, and now they must focus on getting the swing voters to go their way. Many people know the records of both men, but not how they would act and lead in the future. Many independents want to hear the issues and know which candidate most closely identifies with them. In the next two weeks it will be imperative for these men to get their main points out and to stop attacking each other.

If these two men can actually do this the race may be even closer than we already think.

The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword

By: Lauren Brown

Although Governor Malloy has not always been favorable among the Connecticut Education Association or the American Federation of Teacher’s Connecticut, this past week they both endorsed him over his challenger Tom Foley. Despite them not being fully satisfied with Malloy, they knew that if Foley were in office they would be in even more trouble. In our country one of the hottest topics is the state of our education system, and both parties have sometimes been seen to take very different stances on the topic.

According to the Connecticut Education Association, “Malloy is the first governor in state history annually to fully fund the teacher pension plan during his term in office.” This has been groundbreaking for the Connecticut Education System and for the teachers in that state. But, one of the issues that both associations has with Malloy is that he has endorsed the funding of Charter Schools which can sometimes be seen as controversial. However, if that is one of their biggest concerns then Foley was never going to receive support from the CEA, or AFTC because is he also a supporter of charter among other controversial issues regarding education.

Tom Foley has proposed different education policies that these agencies have deemed harmful for the system.

Foley has a “money-follows-the-child” plan that the agency cannot get behind. They feel that this plan will only lead teachers to loose more jobs, and money to be spent on charter schools. Foley was quoted saying, “The market place works. We don’t want to spend taxpayer money supporting schools that aren’t doing a good job. There’s no point in rewarding failure.” Foley has also come out with an ad that addresses his views on education, specifically regarding underperforming schools in the state. Foley has said time and time again that he wants to treat education like the market place, which has not been received well by educators and people in the state.

It seems that this year in the Connecticut Gubernatorial race the issue of Education is only becoming more prevalent with these two agencies outright throwing all support to current Governor Dan Malloy. Many time education is thrown on the back burner as a non-prevalent issue but as they tell you in school, the pen is always mightier than the sword.

IN CHRIST(ie) WE TRUST

By: Lauren Brown

With the anticipation of this race being as close as it was four years ago, both the Republican Governor’s Association and Democratic Governors Association have been pouring money into this race to give their candidates the best chance at winning. Both the RGA and the DGA see the importance of this race and have spent well over 3 million combined on running ads, and mobilizing the public.

Both the RGA and the DGA have been funding two groups in Connecticut that’s sole purpose is to get either Malloy or Foley elected. Malloy’s group is called “Connecticut Forward,” and Foley’s group is “Grow Connecticut.” These two PACs have been very influential and resourceful for the two candidates.

When the race gets closer to the finish both candidates will want to start pulling out the big guns and to do this they will flex the influential people who are rallying in their corner. This past week Tom Foley embraced the support from RGA chairman Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey. Chris Christie came to a fundraiser held by Foley to show his support for the candidate and to emphasize to Republicans how important this race really is. Many people in the Democratic Party have not been impressed by the endorsement from Christie, but despite their partisan feelings Christie’s support can be heavily influential for Foley.

In the coming weeks it is expected that President Obama will come to Connecticut to show his support for Malloy, but with many Democratic Candidates across the country staying away from President, is this really a good idea? The answer will remain unforeseen until Obama actually comes to Connecticut.

Nonetheless with the race coming close to the end it is imperative that both Foley and Malloy keep up fundraisers and stage as many public appearances as possible. This is the final stretch.

Old Dogs- No New Tricks

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By: Lauren Brown

Round one of the closest Connecticut Governor’s race was in 2010 when there was no incumbent running and both parties were able to produce fierce challengers. On the Democratic side was Dannel Malloy, and on the Republican side was Tom Foley. These two men did not agree on much, but one thing they did have in common was their will to fight till the very last days before the general election in 2010. This race was the closest in Connecticut history and resulted with the victory of Malloy by less than 7,000 votes. This was a gruesome race with many different attack ads circulating about what the other’s intentions really were for office. One of the biggest topics the people were concerned about was job creation, and the state of the economy. Four years later and these are still two of the biggest topics the people are concerned about, along with federal government spending, education, and gun laws. But what makes either of these two men any different from the men that ran four years ago, can old dogs have any new tricks?

Welcome to round two of what is yet again going to be a historically close race for the 2014 Connecticut Governor. As of last week the challenger Tom Foley was leading Dan Malloy in the polls by 6% points. But this number will unsurprisingly fluctuate, as it gets closer to the November elections. For this race both men needed to run stronger than they did four years ago, but being frank many cannot see differences from then and now. For instance, one of the most famous attack ads used by Malloy against Foley in 2010 is more or less the same exact one he is using in 2014. Malloy being the incumbent is going to have a much harder time coming up with attack ads because for the past four years his opponent was not in office. For Foley on the other hand he is doing what any good challenger would and is harping on Malloy’s voting records as Governor and using them as different attack ads to appeal to Republicans.

When it comes to ads that they are putting out about themselves they are textbook examples of how an incumbent and challenger should be marketing themselves. Foley is aiming to market himself as a family man or as a “regular guy,” who wants to come in and improve what the current governor couldn’t accomplish. He uses words like, “new direction, optimism, restore,” to make it known that a vote him is a vote for change and when people are not satisfied with their current circumstances, usually in regards to the economy they are more likely to vote for the challenger. As for the incumbent’s strategy Malloy wants to market himself as someone who will need more time to fix the problems, and that when times were tough he was the one who fought for the people. Although the incumbent has a harder job to prove himself Malloy has very effective ads that do just that. In one ad entitled “tough times,” he uses words such as “strong, steady, truthful, leadership, conviction, and progress.”

Both men have made great strides to get themselves out there by participating in open forums, and taking part in many live debates. In the coming weeks they are supposed to have six more televised debates, which can be very effective when dealing with close races. But despite their best efforts the polls show that the state is once again torn between these two men. Image in this election is more important than in any other governor’s election because both men had a clearly defined image and now to succeed these old dogs are going to have to learn some new tricks.

 

The Pros and Conns of the Connecticut Governor’s Race

In 2010 Democrat Dannel Malloy defeated Republican candidate Tom Foley in one of the closest races in Connecticut history. Four years later Tom Foley is back and according to recent polling done by Quinnipiac University he is in the lead 46% to 40% only eight short weeks from the election. Those numbers seem to echo this race four years ago, proving that the state of Connecticut should be considered a purple state.

Two of the most important issues according to these recent polls are the state of the Connecticut economy, and federal government spending.

Many people of the state feel that Governor Malloy has not produced the results that he promised in 2010 and this is something that Foley will be sure to harp on when campaigning against his former competitor. Foley also has the political climate on his side. The democrats have been in control for nearly six years and its about time the people get the “six year itch,” meaning we want change now, which in this case means the Republicans.

In Connecticut the state of the economy is weak and being a predominately industrial state with vast amount corporate industries, many people feel that a businessman for governor is just the thing that the economy needs.

But don’t be fooled by all of the cons against Malloy because Foley faces many challenges as well. Recently, the country does not like the idea of rich businessmen being involved in politics there is a negative sentiment against men like Foley in politics. Policy wise, he is an advocate for loosening gun laws and in a post-Newton, predominately blue state this may be one of the major challenges he faces with the people.

In the coming weeks it is expected that the polls will only tighten the race between these two men, and it is unforeseen who the clear winner will be.