HARTFORD, CT — Rep. William Petit Jr. won’t be running for Congress in the 5th Congressional District. Instead, the first term state representative from Plainville will be seeking another term to his current House seat.
Petit was being courted by the National Republican Congressional Committee to run for U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty’s seat. Esty announced she wouldn’t seek re-election after news of how she handled the firing of her chief of staff.
“I thought long and hard about running for Congress in the 5th District and all that would entail. But family considerations and my deep seeded commitment to the people I now serve won out,” Petit said.
Rep. Michael D’Agostino of Hamden who announced he would be dropping his bid for the Democratic nomination for attorney general threw his support behind Rep. William Tong of Stamford.
D’Agostino, who was loved by labor, said he doesn’t have to think about how Tong would handle threats to collective bargaining. He encouraged his delegates to give their support to Tong.
Chris Mattei, Clare Kindall, and Sen. Paul Doyle are also vying for the Democratic nomination.
Marisa Manley, owner of a commercial real estate company, announced she would run for governor without the help of a major party.
“I’m running to shake up the political establishment that has caused our great state to slide to the edge of financial ruin,” Manley said.
It makes her the second candidate to enter the race as an unaffiliated candidate. The first was Oz Griebel, the former president of the MetroHartford Alliance.