2010 Connecticut Governor - Foley vs. Malloy

11/2/10, 7:25am -- The late voters seem to be surging toward Foley, who is now in the lead.  If the Democrats lose this, it will have been almost 30 years since they won a governor's race come 2014.

10/26/10 -- The polls show a pretty consistent race, with Malloy leading about about 5 points and hovering just under 50 percent.  There's still time, but Foley has to start making a move soon if he expects to win.

10/9/10 -- The polls here are mostly showing a single-digit race now, although Malloy is consistently in the lead.  It's just shy of being a tossup right now, however, so Malloy needs to hope the race doesn't close further.

----------Race Preview---------

Governor's races tend to be the least partisan races out there. This explains why, even after the GOP debacle of 2006, Republicans still controlled half of the New England governorships. Democrats haven't won the Connecticut Governor’s mansion since 1986, when William O'Neill trounced the Republican by almost 17 points.

Republican Governor Jodi Rell took over the helm in July of 2004 after Governor John Rowland resigned amid a fraud scandal. Rell seemingly acquitted herself well in the job, and romped to an easy re-election in the bad Republican year of 2006. She was mentioned as a potential running mate for John McCain, who chose Sarah Palin instead. Rell announced that she would not run for a second full term in 2010, leaving a wide open field.

On August 10, the Democrats chose Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy over former Senate candidate Ned Lamont, who defeated Joe Lieberman in the 2006 Democratic primary. Republicans got behind former ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley.

The early polling has shown Malloy consistently leading Foley, though there are plenty of undecided voters out there who can change things quickly. However, this begins as one of the Democrats' best gubernatorial pickup opportunities.