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Connecticut Governors Race Among Nation's Least Positive

Screenshots of negative ads from both Tom Foley and Dan Malloy's campaigns.

Negative campaigning is nothing new, but a new study finds that Connecticut’s race for governor is one of the least positive in the country.

Erika Franklin Fowler, Director of the Wesleyan Media Project, said Wednesday on WNPR'sWhere We Live that the study found that just 5.5 percent of ads in Connecticut's race for governor are positive. This makes the state the third-least positive for governor's races this season.

"I guess it's no surprise that Connecticut is up there," Fowler said, "given the rematch that we're having."

Credit Wesleyan Media Project
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Wesleyan Media Project
Connecticut's gubernatorial race this season is the third-least positive in the country, according to the Wesleyan Media Project. Connecticut is third least positive.

There are only two states with less positive campaigns: New York and Wisconsin. 

One of Republican candidate Tom Foley's ads includes the voiceover, "Governor Malloy: Connecticut lost 3600 jobs in August. Jobs and people are leaving. You have no plan to fix the economy." Another includes the words, "Dan Malloy is angry. His failed policies are hurting Connecticut, but why is he taking it out on others?"

Governor Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, has an ad that includes the voiceover, "Tom Foley opposed that deal, threatening up to 75,000 jobs, but Foley did support tax breaks for millionaires." Another ad says, "That’s Tom Foley, attacking workers and local leaders in Sprague, and defending the company that shut down the Fusion Paper Mill."

Connecticut's race for governor is not the most negative, though, according to the WMP's calculations.

Fowler explained the difference among positive, negative, and contrast ads. "The negative and contrast are actually important, I think," she said. "If you think about the classic positive spot being lots of flags and lots of puppies, it actually doesn't give you as much substantive information as the contrast and negative spots do."

Listen below to Fowler's comments on Where We Live:

"One of the things we haven't talked about are the outside interest group ads," Fowler said. "Those, in particular, tend to be much more negative than candidate ads, and the other benefit they come with for candidates -- I'm not saying that they're a good thing for democracy -- is that they shield candidates from the backlash that occurs from sponsoring negativity."

The latest Quinnipiac University poll says 53 percent of likely voters have an unfavorable view of Malloy. Foley is viewed as unfavorable by 33 percent of likely voters.

Tucker Ives is WNPR's morning news producer.

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