Dannel Malloy

Dannel Patrick Malloy (/ˈdænəl məˈlɔɪ/; born July 21, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 88th governor of Connecticut from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he chaired the Democratic Governors Association from 2016 to 2017. In July 2019, he began his tenure as the Chancellor of the University of Maine System.

Born in Stamford, Connecticut, Malloy attended Boston College for both undergraduate and law degrees. Malloy began his career as an assistant district attorney in New York in 1980 before moving back to Stamford and entering private practice. He served on the Stamford board of finance from 1984 to 1994 before being elected Mayor of Stamford. He served four terms as mayor from December 1995 to December 2009.

Malloy ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Connecticut in 2006, losing the Democratic primary to John DeStefano, Jr., the Mayor of New Haven, who was defeated in the general election by Republican Governor Jodi Rell. He ran again in 2010 and comfortably won the primary, defeating Ned Lamont, the 2006 U.S. Senate nominee, by 57% of the vote to 43%. Rell did not run for reelection, and Malloy faced former United States Ambassador to Ireland Thomas C. Foley in the general election, defeating him by fewer than 6,500 votes. Malloy was sworn in on January 5, 2011. He was reelected in a rematch with Foley in 2014, increasing his margin of victory to over 28,000 votes. As of July 2018, he had a 21% job approval rating and a 71% disapproval rating, making him the second least popular and third most disliked governor in the United States, after Mary Fallin of Oklahoma. On April 13, 2017, Malloy announced he would not seek reelection in 2018. He was succeeded in office by Democrat Ned Lamont on January 9, 2019.