Tom Foley, the Republican candidate for governor in Connecticut, is expected to be a no show at tonight’s televised debate on Connecticut’s NBC affiliate. It’s the second debate in which all three candidates on the state’s gubernatorial ballot are invited.
He’s not taking part tonight because his campaign’s negotiation with the NBC affiliate did not go well, Foley said on WNPR’s Where We Live program on Wednesday.
There will be three stools on stage just in case Foley changes his mind, the debate’s moderator WVIT anchor Gerry Brooks said on “Where We Live” on Thursday. “There will be three there until 6:45,” Brooks said.
Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy, who’s in a close contest with Foley, might not mind sharing the stage with petitioning candidate Joe Visconti, UConn political scientist Ron Schurin said.
“Generally, it’s a strategy of a candidate who has a challenger hot on his heels to want to get additional candidates into the debate. And you get some interesting YouTube videos when you get some fringe candidates on the debate,” said Schurin.
A recent Quinnipiac University Poll of likely Connecticut voters finds Malloy and Foley virtually tied. Visconti, who is a gun rights advocate, is at 9 percent.
