| Tom Connolly | |
| Birth Date: | 12 May 1946 |
| Birth Place: | Lake Village, Arkansas |
| Death Place: | Toledo, Ohio |
| State Assembly: | California |
| District: | 77th |
| Term: | December 2, 1992 – November 30, 1994 |
| Preceded: | Carol Bentley |
| Succeeded: | Steven C. Baldwin |
| Party: | Democratic |
Thomas Maximus "Tom" Connolly III (May 12, 1946 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American politician from California and a member of the Democratic Party.[1]
An attorney from Lemon Grove, Connelly initially ran for the California State Assembly in 1990, losing to incumbent Carol Bentley in a Republican-tilting, San Diego area district.[2] In 1992, when Bentley left the seat open to run for the California State Senate, Connelly narrowly defeated Republican Steven C. Baldwin, despite the continued Republican lean to the redrawn district.[3] In a 1994 rematch, however, Baldwin trounced Connelly by more than 11 points during an election year that saw the GOP wave also hand Republicans control of the California State Assembly for the first time in more than 20 years.[4]
| Office | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | California State Assembly District 77 | Tom Connelly | align="right" | 35,514 | 35% | Carol Bentley | align="right" | 54,438 | 53.7% | ||||||||
| 1992 | California State Assembly District 77 | Tom Connelly | align="right" | 64,143 | 47.8% | Steven C. Baldwin | align="right" | 59,884 | 44.6% | ||||||||
| 1994 | California State Assembly District 77 | Tom Connelly | align="right" | 42,389 | 44.2% | Steven C. Baldwin | align="right" | 53,442 | 55.8% |