Democrat Jonathan Pelto said Thursday he will make his candidacy official and is committed to running for governor this year as a third-party candidate and liberal alternative to incumbent Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

“As a third-party candidate for governor, I recognize that the campaign system is rigged to make ... being elected as difficult as possible, but I see a clear path forward and I am indeed running to win,” Pelto said in a press release.

The former state representative and longtime critic of Malloy has been exploring a third-party run and said he would not officially enter the race unless he was confident he could win and not just peel off enough of Malloy’s support to hand the election to a Republican candidate.

If he collects the necessary 7,500 signatures, Pelto will appear on the ballot under the Education and Democracy Party. He will be competing with Malloy and a Republican candidate. Tom Foley, who lost to Malloy by only 6,404 votes in 2010, won the Republican nomination at the convention but state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney and Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton both won enough support to wage primary challenges.

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