Democrat Dannel Malloy is trying to place his name in the history books as the first mayor in decades to become Connecticut's governor.
But Malloy already put a notch in the books Monday with the first cross-endorsement in the governor's race since 1938. Malloy was endorsed by the Working Families Party, a union-backed coalition that often supports Democrats and pro-union candidates.
It was the first cross-endorsement in the governor's race since Republican Raymond E. Baldwin was cross-endorsed in 1938 by the Union Party, according to the Secretary of the State's spokesman, Av Harris. Baldwin went on to become governor and served until resigning to become a United States Senator in December 1946.
If Malloy gets at least 1 percent of the votes on the Working Families line, then the party will qualify for an automatic spot on the ballot for governor in the 2014 race. Among minor parties, the Green Party often secures a ballot slot in a variety of races. But that is not the case this year because Green Party candidate Cliff Thornton received only 0.85 percent of the vote in the 2006 race against Republican M. Jodi Rell and Democrat John DeStefano. As such, the party fell short of the necessary 1 percent.