Connecticut’s two-term Democratic Attorney General George Jepsen said he won’t be seeking re-election next year. He’s the third statewide elected official to decide not to run for office again.
First it was two-term Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy, who dropped out in late summer, then Democratic Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman dropped out last week. Now Jepsen, a longtime Democratic Party office holder, who spent 12 years in the state Senate, was party chairman and then state attorney general for eight years, says he’s not running. Jepsen says his decision came after consulting with his family. UConn political scientist Ron Schurin says Jepsen’s decision not to seek a third term is a surprise.
“In the last election in 2014, he came out way ahead of the rest of the ticket. They all had narrow races including of course the governor. George Jepsen won by about 150,000 votes. So he’s in a good political position.”
Schurin says unlike Joe Lieberman and Richard Blumenthal, Jepsen’s high profile predecessors who went on to become U.S. senators, Jepsen focused on policy and kept a low profile.
“He’s come a long way from his origins in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and has made a significant contribution to the state. So maybe this is time to think about something else.”
In his statement, Jepsen says he does not yet know what his future holds, but he looks forward to advancing the interests of Connecticut for the remainder of his term and in other capacities.