Political Analyst: Cross-Endorsements Could Decide Conn. Governor's Race

HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- Third-party cross-endorsements could be key to both Connecticut Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley and Democratic incumbent Dannel Malloy, a political analyst says.

Gary Rose, a political professor at Sacred Heart University, told WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau that in Foley's case, independent voters may feel much more comfortable casting a ballot on the Independent Party line rather than pulling the Republican lever. Foley, a Greenwich businessman and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland, won the Independent Party's endorsement at Tuesday night's party caucus, according to published reports.

Rose also said that Malloy's endorsement by the Working Families line will give him a boost at the polls Nov. 4.

"These cross-endorsements, now either from the Working Families Party for Malloy or the Independent Party for Foley, could in fact determine the outcome of the gubernatorial election," Rose said.

Rose agrees with most other political observers in Connecticut that the race for governor is too close to predict. He said it likely will be decided by a very tight margin, possibly even closer than the 6,500 votes Malloy beat Foley by in 2010.

Rose said that while Malloy needs the independent vote to help win re-election, he doesn't need it "as desperately as Tom Foley does, because Tom Foley is, of course, the candidate of a much smaller party."

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