Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen’s announcement that he won’t seek re-election has opened up an opportunity for several candidates who are seeking statewide office.
UConn political scientist Ron Schurin says some of the candidates running for governor are probably going to seize the opportunity to run for attorney general instead.
“Perhaps some of the people who are jockeying for the gubernatorial nomination will think about going for the attorney general’s spot instead. And that would create the opportunity for a more focused governor’s race and an interesting race for attorney general.”
More than a dozen Republicans and Democrats have shown interest in seeking their party’s nomination to run for governor. State Representative William Tong, a Democrat from Stamford, is the first to announce that he’s considering a run for attorney general.
Former Republican State Representative John Shaban from Redding has also announced his intention to form a candidate committee to run for attorney general.
In the governor’s race, Greenwich, Connecticut, businessman Ned Lamont has announced he’s once again considering a run for the office. Seven years ago, Lamont was defeated in the Democratic primary by Governor Malloy, who has decided not to run again in 2018.
Lamont tells Hearst Connecticut Media that he’ll make up his mind about the race by the end of the year.
Lamont has sought statewide office in Connecticut several times. In 2006 he defeated U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman in the Democratic Primary. Lieberman, however, held on to his seat by running as an independent against Lamont in the general election.
