Last week, Connecticut Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy announced that he would not seek a third term next year. Malloy’s decision wasn’t a massive surprise, especially since the incumbent has posted poor approval ratings for years as he’s struggled with the perception that the state has not recovered well from the Great Recession. Still, it may take a while for the Democratic contest to replace him to take shape.
One of the big questions hanging over the Democratic primary is what Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, a former state comptroller, will do. Wyman herself deflected questions about her 2018 plans after Malloy made his announcement, and according to Hearst Connecticut Media, an unnamed “person familiar with Wyman’s plans” says that she hasn’t ruled out seeking a promotion. State Comptroller Kevin Lembo has expressed interest in running, but last year, he unequivocally said that he’d support Wyman if she ran. Jonathan Harris, a former West Hartford mayor, has also talked about running, and on Monday, he stepped down from his position as commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection to “to pursue other professional opportunities.” However, Harris also says that he won’t run if Wyman does.
Several other Democrats are also making noises about getting in, and they may not be so deferential to Wyman. Middletown Mayor Dan Drew formed an exploratory committee months ago, though he hasn’t declared that he’s in yet. Chris Mattei, a former federal prosecutor who is best-known for successfully prosecuting ex-GOP Gov. John Rowland in 2015 for hiding campaign work from election officials, told CT News Junkie on Thursday that he would decide within days. On Monday, CT Post reported that Mattei could set up his own exploratory committee as soon as this week.
But wait… there’s more! New Haven Mayor Toni Harp only said on Thursday that she’s “not considering a run at this time,” which is of course far from a no. Back in November, Harp’s team launched a PAC, and the group’s top strategist acknowledged that he hoped she would run for governor in 2018. Rep. Elizabeth Esty has ruled out a bid, though the Hartford Courant writes that there’s no word if her husband, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Dan Esty, is interested.
Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney has expressed interest, while state Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr. reportedly is likely to get in. Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim also sounds interested, but given his seven-year stint in jail for steering city contracts in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of perks, he's not exactly an appealing candidate. The CT Mirror name-drops Attorney General George Jepsen, but there’s no word if he’s looking at a run.
Connecticut is a reliably blue state in federal elections, but it has a long history of voting for GOP governors, and Team Red hopes that Malloy’s unpopularity will give them an opening. House Minority Leader Themis Klarides is the latest Republican to express interest, while Hartford Business name-drops her Senate counterpart, Len Fasano. Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti and state Rep. Prasad Srinivasan each kicked off bids before Malloy made his decision not to run public, while former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker; Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton; Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst; businessman Steve Obsitnik; attorney Peter Lumaj; and state Sen. Toni Boucher have all formed exploratory committees.
Ex-state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, who lost the 2014 primary, New Brittain Mayor Erin Stewart, and state Sen. Tony Hwang have each expressed interest as well. However, the CT Post reported last month that Hwang was considering challenging Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy instead.