Foley Wins GOP Primary

08.13.2014
Issues & Policies

Republican Tom Foley defeated State Senator John McKinney in yesterday’s GOP gubernatorial primary.
The Greenwich businessman and former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland [pictured above in a Connecticut Mirror photo] now faces Governor Dannel Malloy in the November 4 general election.
It will be the second race between the two, with Malloy defeating Foley by about 6,400 votes four years ago to win his first term in office.
Foley took 57% of the vote in yesterday’s primary, against 43% for Fairfield’s McKinney. Turnout for the primary was light, with about 20% of the state’s 437,000 registered Republicans voting yesterday.
“Change is on the way,” Foley said in his victory speech in Waterbury late Tuesday night. “We will have pro-growth policies and reduce taxes, get control over spending and support job creators.”
Malloy and Foley face a potential four-way race if former Democrat state representative Jonathan Pelto and conservative Republican Joseph Visconti successfully petition their way onto the ballot as independent candidates.
Foley will be joined on the Republican ticket by former Groton Mayor Heather Bond Somers, who won a surprisingly close party primary race for lieutenant governor.
With all towns reporting, Somers held a 771 vote lead over State Representative Penny Bacchiochi, the party’s endorsed candidate. Bacchiochi conceded Wednesday afternoon, avoiding a mandatory recount.
Somers finished with 34.5 percent of the more than 77,000 votes cast, Bacchiochi 33.6 percent. Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker took 31.9 percent of the vote.
In all legislative primaries, two incumbents lost, seven won, and one current state representative won her party’s nod to run for state Senate.
There were 23 primaries in Connecticut, including the Republican primary for governor, lieutenant governor, and state comptroller.
There were also 18 primaries for candidates in various districts across the state for the state Senate and House in both major political parties.
Two Democrat incumbents representing the Bridgeport area, Senator Michael Musto and State Representative Christina Ayala, lost to challengers.

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