Copyright Hartford Courant
After months of delays, Gov. Ned Lamont will be running for a third term as governor – a highly difficult feat that has been accomplished by only one other Connecticut politician in the past 200 years. Lamont will be filing the necessary paperwork to launch the campaign and will make a formal announcement next week, Rob Blanchard, Lamont’s chief spokesman, said Friday. Lamont will continue his political partnership with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz that has lasted for the past eight years. “Susan and I are ready to go,” Lamont told reporters Friday in East Hartford. “We’ll get you the details next week.” Lamont has been asked constantly by reporters on when he will make the announcement, and he has repeatedly stated that he wanted to postpone the formal decision for as long as possible so that he could focus on governing instead of campaign. Lamont says he much prefers running the state to the rough-and-tumble clashes of politics. CT GOP governor candidates scramble for cash. Here’s who is in the lead Lamont will start the campaign with an advantage as a two-term incumbent with far more name recognition and more money than his opponents combined. In the short-term, he could face a possible Democratic primary next August against state Rep. Josh Elliott of Hamden. The two top Republican candidates are state Sen. Ryan Fazio of Greenwich and longtime New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart. Even the giants of modern Connecticut politics, including Abe Ribicoff, Ella Grasso, and Lowell P. Weicker, did not win three elections for governor. The only person in the past 200 years to win three four-year terms was John G. Rowland, a Republican who later resigned during his third term amid a corruption scandal. For Lamont, it was a highly personal decision. Many politicians make the decision simply based on whether they believe they can win or not. In Lamont’s case, he is currently 71 years old and would be 73 at the start of his third term in January 2027. He would then be 77 years old at the end of the four-year term. Another factor is that his wife, Annie, has declined to retire and is still working at 68 as a highly successful venture capitalist who specializes in the health care industry. Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com
