Video: Independent CT gubernatorial candidate endorses GOP opponent

Candidates for public office occasionally drop out of races … but not less than 48 hours before voters go to the polls. For Joe Visconti, running for governor in Connecticut as an independent, it’s not a moment too soon or too late. At a press conference last night, Visconti said that after a look at the polls, he’s decided to drop out and back Republican Tom Foley in order to make sure Democrats don’t win the office again:

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NBC Connecticut cameras were the only ones rolling when Visconti appeared alongside Foley in Brookfield on Sunday, surprising a crowded room of Foley campaign volunteers.

“I called Tom yesterday. I took a look at the polls,” Visconti explained. “I was very concerned that Tom is in the fight for his life. Connecticut is in the fight of its life.”

Visconti, a conservative who failed to secure the Republican nomination, previously said he’d ride out the race until the end, but threw his support to Foley on Sunday and asked his followers to do the same.

The announcement came as such a surprise that it raised questions as to whether Visconti had cut a deal with Foley to drop out. The only deal, Visconti insisted, was that Foley invite Visconti’s mother to the inauguration. “I’ve done this for the people,” Visconti told his supporters. “I love Connecticut. … But my supporters, all of them, please vote for Tom.”

This made for an awkward welcome for Barack Obama. This announcement came while the President was traveling to Bridegwater to campaign for the Democrat, incumbent Dan Malloy. Visconti’s move took some attention away from Malloy’s attempt to burnish his progressive credentials. That wasn’t the only distraction for Obama, who got repeatedly heckled by immigration-reform activists:

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President Barack Obama wrapped up his campaigning in the 2014 elections by encouraging Democrats to cast ballots in governors’ races in Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

Obama was interrupted multiple times by protesters upset over deportations of undocumented immigrants at a rally yesterday for Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy in Bridgeport. He then stumped for Tom Wolf, the Democrat running for governor in Pennsylvania.

We haven’t spent much time on the gubernatorial race in Connecticut, but it’s worth a peek now, surely. The RCP average for this race puts Malloy over Foley by less than two points. Mallow has led in three of the last four polls, but hasn’t gotten to 50% in any of them. PPP has the latest survey, which concluded Saturday, with Malloy in front by three with Visconti in the race (44/41) and out of it (47/44). In both cases, though, eight percent of respondents were undecided — and undecideds usually break hard away from incumbents, especially in a state where Obama gets a 36/53 approval rating. And that comes from a sample that gave Obama a 15-point margin over Mitt Romney in 2012.

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Visconti’s move alone won’t guarantee a win for Foley, but staying in the race probably would have guaranteed a win for Malloy. It’ll be interesting to see how this breaks tomorrow night.

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