The leader of the House Republican caucus, Lawrence Cafero, of Norwalk, is planning an announcement at the House Caucus Room Monday afternoon to announce whether or not he will run for the state's top elected office. It looks like he will announce that he is not running for governor in the next election, according to the Norwalk Hour.
News of the announcement spread after an e-mail intended for Cafero was inadvertently sent to a media list by a legislative communications staffer on Thursday.
Democrats jumped on the e-mail Thursday afternoon. In a statement, the Connecticut Democratic Party pointed out that last year Cafero pushed for a Republican ethics package which would bar legislative staff from such activity. "That he's starting out on this foot says a lot about Larry Cafero, the kind of campaign we should expect him to run over the next year, and the kind of governor he would be," wrote communications director Colleen Flanagan.
He had formed an exploratory committee in April but had not disclosed for what statewide office, The Hour reports, but after Gov. M. Jodi Rell decided not to run, he did some "soul searching."
"We have had many, many hours of soul searching and discussions and we've come to the conclusion that this is not the right time for me enter the race for governor. It is the kind of effort, I think, that needs everyone's involvement, certainly from a family point of view. It is a full-time commitment, and given where our family is at this point ...," he told the newspaper.
Republicans Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele and Tom Foley, and Democrats, including, James Amann, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, Gary LeBeau, Rudy Marconi Senate Majority Leader John McKinney and Dannel Malloy, have either confirmed they are running or are contemplating a run for governor.
Rell announced she would not run in the November 2010 election. The popular Republican governor has not officially supported any candidate.
