2014 Connecticut gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2014 United States gubernatorial elections.

2014 Connecticut gubernatorial election

←  2010 November 4, 2014 (2014-11-04) 2018  →
Turnout	50.6% ( 2.6%)
Nominee Dannel Malloy Thomas C. Foley Party Democratic Republican Alliance Working Families Independent Running mate Nancy Wyman Heather Somers Popular vote 554,314 526,295 Percentage 50.73% 48.16%
County results Municipality results Malloy:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%      80–90% Foley:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Governor before election Dannel Malloy Democratic Elected Governor Dannel Malloy Democratic

The 2014 Connecticut gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Connecticut, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

Incumbent Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy won re-election to a second term in office. Connecticut, unlike most states, holds separate primary elections for governor and lieutenant governor, with the winners then running together on the same ticket.

Malloy and incumbent Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman were renominated unopposed. The Republicans nominated former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland and nominee for governor in 2010 Thomas C. Foley and Groton Town Councilor Heather Somers, making the contest a rematch of the 2010 election. Independent candidate Joe Visconti, a former West Hartford Town Councilor and the Republican nominee for Connecticut's 1st congressional district in 2008 was running with Chester Harris, a former Republican Haddam School Board Member. Visconti suspended his campaign on November 2 and endorsed Foley. However, due to the suspension coming only two days before the election, Visconti's name remained on the ballot. Former State Representative Jonathan Pelto (D-Mansfield) ^[1] explored a third-party candidacy through a petition drive but was disqualified due to an inadequate number of signatures. ^[2]

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

Declared

• Dannel Malloy, incumbent Governor ^[3]

Withdrew

• Lee Whitnum, writer, candidate for Connecticut's 4th congressional district in 2008 and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010 and 2012 ^[4]

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Declared

• Nancy Wyman, incumbent Lieutenant Governor

Results

Malloy and Wyman ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination, so no primaries were held.

Republican primary

Governor

2010 nominee Thomas C. Foley won the endorsement of the state party at the Republican State Convention on May 17, winning 57.1% of the vote. ^[5] Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and State Senate Minority Leader John McKinney took 22.3% and 17.72%, respectively, meeting the 15% vote threshold and thus also qualified for the primary ballot. ^[6] Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti and former West Hartford Town Councilor Joe Visconti failed to get 15% of the vote at the convention, so neither automatically qualified for the ballot. Visconti began collecting signatures to petition his way onto the ballot. He needed the signatures of 8,190 registered Republican voters by June 10 in order to qualify and he started collecting signatures when primary petitions became available at the end of April. ^[7] Lauretti began to collect signatures a few days after the convention, but withdrew those petitions on May 22 to instead try to petition onto the ballot for lieutenant governor. ^[8]

On June 6, Visconti announced that he was short of the required number of signatures, and with the filing deadline only 4 days away, was withdrawing from the race to run as an Independent instead. ^[9] Boughton suspended his campaign on June 18, primarily because he did not think Lauretti, his unofficial running mate, would qualify for the ballot, which would have meant Boughton failing to qualify for public financing. ^[10] He called for "party unity behind the endorsed Republican candidate, Tom Foley." ^[11]

Candidates

Declared

• Thomas C. Foley, former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland and nominee for governor in 2010 ^{[5] [12] [13]}
• John P. McKinney, Minority Leader of the Connecticut Senate ^{[5] [14]}

Withdrew

• Toni Boucher, state senator ^{[15] [16]}
• Mark Boughton, Mayor of Danbury and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2010 ^{[5] [11] [17]}
• Martha Dean, nominee for Connecticut Attorney General in 2002 and 2010 ^{[18] [19]}
• Mark Lauretti, Mayor of Shelton (ran for Lieutenant Governor) ^{[5] [8] [20]}
• Joe Visconti, former West Hartford Town Councilor and nominee for Connecticut's 1st congressional district in 2008 (running as unaffiliated) ^{[5] [9] [21]}

Declined

• Lawrence F. Cafero, Minority Leader of the Connecticut House of Representatives ^[22]
• Michael Fedele, former lieutenant governor and candidate for governor in 2010 (running for Mayor of Stamford) ^{[23] [24]}
• Pauline R. Kezer, former Secretary of the State of Connecticut ^[15]
• Linda McMahon, businesswoman and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010 and 2012 ^[25]
• Chris Shays, former U.S. Representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012 ^[23]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Toni Boucher	Mark Boughton	Lawrence F. Cafero	Martha Dean	Thomas C. Foley	Mark Lauretti	John P. McKinney	Joe Visconti	Other	Undecided
Quinnipiac	May 1–6, 2014	443	±4.7%	—	9%	—	5%	39%	3%	8%	4%	2%	30%
Quinnipiac	Feb. 26–March 2, 2014	477	±4.5%	2%	11%	—	—	36%	6%	3%	3%	1%	37%
Quinnipiac	June 12–17, 2013	283	±5.8%	—	8%	4%	—	36%	—	11%	—	1%	41%

Results

Results by county:

  Foley—60–70%

  Foley—50–60%

  McKinney—50–60%

Republican primary results ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Thomas C. Foley	44,144	55.58
	Republican	John P. McKinney	35,282	44.42
Total votes			79,426	100.00

Lieutenant governor

Although separate primary elections are held for governor and lieutenant governor, candidates for each office often join together to form unofficial "tickets". Heather Bond Somers had originally been running on such a "ticket" with Mark Boughton, ^[27] but she withdrew from the arrangement. ^{[28] [29]} Boughton later announced Mark Lauretti as his new running mate. ^[30] This arrangement came to an end when Boughton withdrew, primarily because he did not think Lauretti would qualify for the ballot, which would have meant Boughton failing to qualify for public financing. ^[10] David M. Walker teamed up with John P. McKinney. ^[31] Bacchiochi did not join any "ticket". ^[32]

Bacchiochi won the endorsement of the state party at the Republican State Convention on May 17, winning 50.9% of the vote. Somers took 31.5% and Walker got 17.4%, meaning they both also qualified for the primary ballot. ^[28] Lauretti attempted to petition his way onto the ballot; he was unsuccessful, filing only 6,723 of the required 8,190 signatures. ^[33]

Candidates

Declared

• Penny Bacchiochi, state representative
• Heather Bond Somers, Groton Town Councilor and former Mayor of Groton
• David M. Walker, former Comptroller General of the United States

Withdrew

• Mark Lauretti, Mayor of Shelton ^{[8] [33]}

Results

Republican primary results by county

  Somers

•   30–40%
•   40–50%

  Bacchiochi

•   30–40%
•   40–50%

  Walker

•   30–40%

Republican primary results ^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Heather Bond Somers	26,980	34.46
	Republican	Penny Bacchiochi	26,311	33.06
	Republican	David M. Walker	25,014	31.94
Total votes			78,305	100.00

Independents

Candidates

Withdrew

• Joe Visconti, former West Hartford Town Councilor and Republican nominee for Connecticut's 1st congressional district in 2008 ^{[9] [34]}

  Running mate: Chester Harris, former Republican Haddam School Board Member ^[35]

Disqualified

• Jonathan Pelto, Democratic former state representative ^{[36] [37] [38] [39]}

  Running mate: Ebony Murphy-Root, teacher

General election

Debates

• Complete video of debate, August 27, 2014 - C-SPAN
• Complete video of debate, October 2, 2014 - C-SPAN

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [40]	Tossup	November 3, 2014
Sabato's Crystal Ball [41]	Lean D	November 3, 2014
Rothenberg Political Report [42]	Tossup	November 3, 2014
Real Clear Politics [43]	Tossup	November 3, 2014

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of October 10, 2014
Candidate	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Dannel Malloy (D)	$6,501,239	$6,716,337	$2,326,904
Thomas C. Foley (R)	$7,944,883	$8,230,236	$4,238,039
Source: Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission [44] [45]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dannel Malloy (D)	Thomas C. Foley (R)	Joe Visconti (I)	Other	Undecided
Quinnipiac University	October 28 – November 2, 2014	926	± 3.2%	43%	42%	8%	1%	6%
				47%	44%	—	1%	7%
Public Policy Polling	October 30 – November 1, 2014	931	± 3.2%	44%	41%	6%	—	8%
				47%	44%	—	—	8%
Rasmussen Reports	October 29–30, 2014	977	± 3%	48%	47%	—	2%	4%
Quinnipiac University	October 22–27, 2014	838	± 3.4%	43%	43%	7%	1%	6%
				44%	46%	—	1%	8%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	October 16–23, 2014	1,267	± 4%	40%	40%	3%	0%	17%
Quinnipiac University	October 14–20, 2014	1,010	± 3.1%	43%	42%	9%	1%	6%
				45%	45%	—	2%	8%
Rasmussen Reports	October 14–16, 2014	980	± 3.5%	43%	50%	—	2%	4%
Quinnipiac University	October 1–6, 2014	1,085	± 3%	43%	43%	9%	—	5%
				46%	46%	—	1%	7%
Public Policy Polling	October 2–5, 2014	861	± 3.3%	43%	35%	9%	—	14%
				45%	39%	—	—	16%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	September 20 – October 1, 2014	1,284	± 3%	41%	41%	3%	1%	14%
Quinnipiac University	September 3–8, 2014	1,304	± 2.7%	40%	46%	7%	1%	6%
				43%	49%	—	1%	7%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	August 18 – September 2, 2014	1,808	± 3%	42%	41%	—	3%	14%
Rasmussen Reports	August 18–19, 2014	750	± 4%	38%	45%	—	7%	10%
Gravis Marketing	August 4–7, 2014	440	± 5%	38%	46%	—	—	16%
Anzalone Liszt Grove	July 28–29, 2014	900	± ?	46%	46%	—	—	8%
Vox Populi Polling	July 27–28, 2014	550	± 4.2%	35%	34%	—	3% [46]	27%
CBS News/NYT/YouGov	July 5–24, 2014	1,177	± ?	41%	48%	—	4%	8%
Quinnipiac University	May 1–6, 2014	1,668	± 2.4%	43%	43%	—	1%	12%
Quinnipiac University	February 26 – March 2, 2014	1,878	± 2.3%	42%	42%	—	1%	14%
Quinnipiac University	June 12–17, 2013	1,154	± 2.9%	40%	43%	—	1%	16%

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dannel Malloy (D)	Toni Boucher (R)	Other	Undecided
Quinnipiac University	February 26 – March 2, 2014	1,878	± 2.3%	45%	34%	2%	19%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dannel Malloy (D)	Mark Boughton (R)	Other	Undecided
Quinnipiac University	May 1–6, 2014	1,668	± 2.4%	44%	39%	1%	16%
Quinnipiac University	February 26 – March 2, 2014	1,878	± 2.3%	44%	35%	2%	19%
Quinnipiac University	June 12–17, 2013	1,154	± 2.9%	43%	36%	1%	19%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dannel Malloy (D)	Lawrence F. Cafero (R)	Other	Undecided
Quinnipiac University	June 12–17, 2013	1,154	± 2.9%	44%	37%	2%	18%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dannel Malloy (D)	Martha Dean (R)	Other	Undecided
Quinnipiac University	May 1–6, 2014	1,668	± 2.4%	46%	37%	1%	16%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dannel Malloy (D)	Mark Lauretti (R)	Other	Undecided
Quinnipiac University	May 1–6, 2014	1,668	± 2.4%	45%	37%	1%	17%
Quinnipiac University	February 26 – March 2, 2014	1,878	± 2.3%	44%	34%	2%	19%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dannel Malloy (D)	John P. McKinney (R)	Other	Undecided
Gravis Marketing	August 4–7, 2014	440	± 5%	38%	45%	—	17%
Quinnipiac University	May 1–6, 2014	1,668	± 2.4%	44%	40%	1%	14%
Quinnipiac University	February 26 – March 2, 2014	1,878	± 2.3%	43%	37%	1%	18%
Quinnipiac University	June 12–17, 2013	1,154	± 2.9%	44%	37%	1%	18%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dannel Malloy (D)	Generic Republican	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	November 1–2, 2012	1,220	± 2.8%	48%	37%	—	15%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Dannel Malloy (D)	Joe Visconti (R)	Other	Undecided
Quinnipiac University	May 1–6, 2014	1,668	± 2.4%	46%	36%	1%	17%
Quinnipiac University	February 26 – March 2, 2014	1,878	± 2.3%	45%	34%	2%	19%

Results

2014 Connecticut gubernatorial election ^[47]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Dannel Malloy	529,552	48.46%	+1.25%
	Working Families	Dannel Malloy	24,762	2.27%	−0.03%
	Total	Dannel Malloy (incumbent)	554,314	50.73%	+1.22%
	Republican	Thomas C. Foley	503,998	46.12%	−2.83%
	Independent Party	Thomas C. Foley	22,297	2.04%	N/A
	Total	Thomas C. Foley	526,295	48.16%	−0.79%
	Independent	Joe Visconti	11,456	1.05%	N/A
	Write-in		708	0.06%	N/A
Total votes			1,092,773	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

Results by County

County	Dannel Malloy Democratic		Thomas Foley Republican		Various candidates Other parties		Total votes cast
	Fairfield	128,714	49.72%	128,629	49.69%	1,530	0.59%	258,873
Hartford	148,096	53.51%	125,722	45.43%	2,947	1.06%	276,765
Litchfield	27,282	39.40%	40,992	59.20%	974	1.41%	69,248
Middlesex	31,478	49.45%	31,342	49.24%	833	1.31%	63,653
New Haven	135,973	53.37%	116,068	45.56%	2,713	1.06%	254,754
New London	42,983	51.30%	39,666	47.34%	1,132	1.35%	83,781
Tolland	23,887	45.99%	27,315	52.59%	738	1.42%	66,450
Windham	15,901	48.11%	16,561	50.11%	589	1.78%	33,051
Total	554,314	50.73%	526,295	48.16%	12,164	1.11%	1,092,773

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Fairfield (largest town: Bridgeport)
• Middlesex (largest town: Middletown)
• New London (largest town: Norwich)

By congressional district

Despite his win, and managing to flip back 3 counties, Malloy only won 2 of the 5 congressional districts, while Foley won the other 3, all of which were held by Democrats. This result exactly replicated the previous election for governor in 2010 by congressional district between Malloy and Foley. ^[48]

District	Dannel Malloy Democratic		Thomas Foley Republican		Various candidates Independent		Total votes cast	Representative
	#	%	#	%	#	%
1st	122,097	54.33%	100,031	44.51%	2,610	1.16%	224,738	John B. Larson
2nd	111,560	47.96%	117,788	50.64%	3,246	1.40%	232,594	Joe Courtney
3rd	120,938	56.17%	92,107	42.79%	2,244	1.04%	215,289	Rosa DeLauro
4th	100,667	49.60%	100,711	49.62%	1,586	0.78%	202,964	Jim Himes
5th	99,052	45.60%	115,658	53.26%	2,478	1.14%	217,188	Elizabeth Esty
Totals	554,314	50.73%	526,295	48.16%	12,164	1.11%	1,092,773

See also

• 2014 United States gubernatorial elections

References

1. "Jonathan Pelto Announces Candidacy for Governor". June 12, 2014.
2. "Pelto falls 3,200 signatures short of spot on CT gubernatorial ballot". August 29, 2014.
3. "Yes, Dan Malloy is running in 2014". Ctmirror.org. March 28, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
4. Vigdor, Neil (March 17, 2014). "Whitnum says she's running for governor". Greenwich Time . Retrieved March 19, 2014.
5. Vigdor, Neil (May 18, 2014). "Foley gets GOP nod, but Boughton and McKinney to primary". Connecticut Post . Retrieved May 19, 2014.
6. "GOP Nominates Foley For Governor; Boughton, McKinney Qualify For Primary". The Courant. May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
7. Stuart, Christine (April 24, 2014). "Visconti To Petition His Way Onto Primary Ballot". CT News Junkie. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
8. Staff Report (May 22, 2014). "Lauretti Drops Down To Lieutenant Governor Race". CT News Junkie. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
9. Pazniokas, Mark (June 6, 2014). "Visconti ends GOP campaign to run as independent". The Connecticut Mirror . Retrieved June 19, 2014.
10. "Lauretti fails to qualify for lieutenant governor primary". The Weston Forum. June 26, 2014. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
11. "Mark Boughton Calls Off Campaign for Governor". NBC Connecticut. June 18, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
12. Swift, Jennifer (September 9, 2013). "Tom Foley Likely to Announce He's Exploring Run for Governor Tuesday". Connecticut Magazine. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
13. "Tom Foley to Run for Governor". NBC Connecticut . January 29, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
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15. Keating, Christopher (27 August 2013). "Sen. Toni Boucher of Wilton Exploring Run For Governor; Facing Better-Known Opponents in 2014 Race". Hartford Courant . Archived from the original on 28 August 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
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17. Duplantier, Wes (August 14, 2013). "A Third Republican Eyes the Governor's Mansion". Hartford Courant . Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
18. Pazniokas, Mark (March 11, 2014). "Martha Dean enters Connecticut race for governor". The Connecticut Mirror . Retrieved March 11, 2014.
19. "Republican Martha Dean withdraws from Connecticut governor's race". The Register Citizen. May 9, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
20. Durrell, Brad (January 4, 2014). "Mayor Mark Lauretti of Shelton enters race for governor". Shelton Herald. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
21. "Republican John McKinney Officially Announces Candidacy for Connecticut Governor". County Times. July 23, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
22. McQuaid, Hugh (June 27, 2013). "Count Cafero Out". CT News Junkie. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
23. Vigdor, Neil (August 29, 2012). "CT Republicans already eying gov's race". Connecticut Post . Retrieved August 30, 2012.
24. Buzzeo, Anthony (April 20, 2013). "Former Lt. Gov Michael Fedele Starts Stamford Mayoral Run". Stamford Daily Voice. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
25. Altimari, Daniela (November 7, 2012). "Murphy Wins Bitter Connecticut Senate Race". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
26. "Unofficial primary results" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. August 12, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
27. Jennifer Swift (January 28, 2014). "Mark Boughton Taps Heather Bond Somers as Running Mate". Connecticut Mag. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
28. Mary E. O’Leary (May 22, 2014). "Somers dumps Boughton as running mate in Republican race". New Haven Register. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
29. Neil Vigdor (May 22, 2014). "Unfriendly split for Somers, Boughton". The News-Times. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
30. Bill Cummings (May 24, 2014). "Boughton and Lauretti team up". The News-Times. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
31. Mark Pazniokas (May 17, 2014). "McKinney, Walker form ticket, then each finishes third". CT Mirror. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
32. "Bacchiochi Wins GOP Lt. Gov. Nomination". CT News Junkie. May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
33. "Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti Falls Short in Bid for Lieutenant Governor". NBC Connecticut. June 24, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
34. "Visconti Endorses Foley for Governor". nbcconnecticut.com. November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
35. "Haddam School Board Member Rejects Evolution". Hartford Courant. November 1, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
36. Jon Lender (May 13, 2014). "Pelto Could Upend Gubernatorial Race As 3rd-Party Candidate". Hartford Courant . Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
37. Mary E. O’Leary (May 20, 2014). "Former state Rep. Jonathan Pelto explores third-party run for governor". New Haven Register . Retrieved May 28, 2014.
38. Neil Vigdor (June 13, 2014). "Spoiler alert: Pelto to challenge Malloy as 3rd-party candidate". Connecticut Post . Retrieved June 19, 2014.
39. Schoenfield, Samantha (August 29, 2014). "Jonathan Pelto Won't Appear On Ballot For Governor". FOX CT. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
40. "2014 Governor Race Ratings for November 3, 2014". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
41. "The Crystal Ball's Final 2014 Picks". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
42. "2014 Gubernatorial Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
43. "2014 Elections Map - 2014 Governors Races". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
44. "Itemized Campaign Finance Disclosure Statement" (PDF). CT.gov.
45. "Itemized Campaign Finance Disclosure Statement" (PDF). CT.gov.
46. Jonathan Pelto (I)
47. "Statement of Vote, General Election November 4, 2014" (PDF). State of Connecticut Secretary of State.
48. "Statement of The Vote" (PDF). CT.gov.

External links

• Connecticut gubernatorial election, 2014 at Ballotpedia

Official campaign websites (Archived)

• Dannel Malloy for Governor incumbent
• Mark Boughton for Governor
• Tom Foley for Governor
• Mark Lauretti for Governor
• John McKinney for Governor
• Joe Visconti for Governor