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Gubernatorial Hopeful Tom Foley Says Obama's Visit Shows Malloy Can't Win Race On His Own

CROMWELL, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) - Republican candidate for governor in Connecticut Tom Foley says it's nice to have the president visit, but it also says something about the race.

Foley said President Obama's visit shows Democrat Dan Malloy can't win the race on his own.

Foley chuckled at Malloy's prediction of the rising number of manufacturing jobs in the state, WCBS 880's Paul Murnane reported.

Gubernatorial Hopeful Tom Foley Says Obama's Visit Shows Malloy Can't Win Race On His Own

"For this governor to be saying things are getting better simply is not truthful and his corporate welfare program has not worked," he said. "There's no evidence that the economy is getting stronger in Connecticut. We've only had 1 percent growth in three and a half years."

Foley says star power shows political support and it has fundraising value, but a scheduling conflict kept Gov. Chris Christie away from this Foley event.

Organized labor is devoting millions of dollars and countless man-hours to re-elect Malloy, someone they consider an important ally despite his 2011 clash with unionized state employees during a 2011 budget impasse.

Malloy is in a tight race with Foley and is being rewarded for his outspoken support of issues dear to unions, including collective bargaining rights and paid sick leave.

As of last week, national unions contributed at least $1.9 million to a political action committee supporting Malloy.

Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said unions have had their differences with Malloy, but he still treats them with respect.

Foley says he's been unfairly painted as anti-union and has no plans to roll-back union workers' rights.

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