Chief justice pick squeaks through House

Hartford (AP) — Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s pick for chief justice of Connecticut’s highest court cleared the House of Representatives with the narrowest of votes on Monday, advancing the nomination to the Senate, where its fate remains uncertain.

The House voted 75-74 in favor of Andrew McDonald’s confirmation, with a handful of Democrats joining nearly every Republican in opposition. McDonald is an associate justice on the State Supreme Court, a position he’s held for the past five years.

McDonald is expected to face a close vote in the state Senate, where there is an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. One Democrat has already recused herself, making Republican support for his confirmation necessary.

“Based on the merits of his nomination, Justice McDonald should be our next Chief Justice,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven. “It remains to be seen if the Senate Republicans will choose a partisan path in order to reject this thoroughly qualified and historic nominee.”