Republican businessman Tom Foley confirmed Thursday that he will drop his bid for Connecticut Senate to run for the open governor’s seat in 2010.

Foley, a fundraiser for President George W. Bush and former ambassador to Ireland, sent an e-mail to supporters announcing his decision, excerpts below:

“Last week, I announced that I was looking at the race for Governor. Since then, I have had hundreds of e-mails from supporters and have spoken to over one hundred people – including many who are currently serving in our state government. They have overwhelmingly encouraged me to run for Governor.

So I am announcing today that I will be running for Governor of this great State. In the weeks ahead I will be assembling a team to evaluate options for solving the fiscal and other problems we face. We will prepare a Plan Forward for Connecticut which I will share with you when it is complete.”