Bysiewicz Says Malloy Has Won, Unofficially

YPM Update: Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz said Wednesday at noon that Democrat Dannel Malloy had won the governor's race by a margin of 3,103 votes. Bysiewicz said her office believes only 500 of those votes are included in the provisional ballots cast between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at certain Bridgeport polling places, under a special order by a judge. Bysiewicz said a ruling to discard those ballots would not narrow Malloy's margin enough to trigger a recount. Cities put Malloy over the top. Bysiewicz said the totals, not yet certified by her office, for New Haven were Malloy: 21,108 and Foley 3,500. In Bridgeport, the vote was 19,148 for Malloy and 6,502 for Foley. 

Later, on the Colin McEnroe Show, Republican Tom Foley challenged Bysiewicz about the propriety of releasing unofficial results.  Foley said his own count showed him with a slight lead, slim enough to warrant a recount.  

Former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy declared early Wednesday he had become the first Democrat to win a Connecticut gubernatorial contest in 24 years, though he also conceded the matter might well be settled in court.

Meanwhile, Malloy's Republican opponent, Greenwich businessman Tom Foley, continued to assert he would win the battle, which has been marked over the past month by several heated debates and a flurry of televised attack ads launched by both candidates.

Dan Malloy talks to supporters as he claims victory early Wednesday (Mark Pazniokas)

And a controversial lack of ballots that left hundreds of potential voters in at least 12 precincts in Connecticut's largest city with no recourse for hours during the mid-afternoon Tuesday loomed over the entire race.

If Malloy's declared victory ultimately is confirmed, the election would mark a Democratic sweep for the state's constitutional offices, even as majority Democrats lost 14 seats in the House and 1 in the Senate, pending recounts.

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