Both Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said they have filed paperwork for their candidacies. 

By Hugh McQuaid, CTNewsJunkie.com 

Gov. Ned Lamont made official his long-expected reelection campaign Monday, telling reporters he had filed paperwork to be a candidate in next year’s election.

Lamont mentioned the filing during a news conference in Ansonia to highlight planned upgrades to commuter rail lines. Though his candidacy has been widely assumed for months, the governor quickly hedged in a video tweeted by WTNH reporter Jodi Latina.

“I’ve got to make up my mind, formally in the months to come but I figure, let’s be prepared, let’s file the paperwork, let’s get this thing going,” Lamont said.

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said she had also filed paperwork. As of Monday afternoon, documents for neither candidate committee had been posted to the State Elections Enforcement Commission campaign reporting system.

Although Lamont has long been the presumed Democratic candidate, the Republican field is still up for grabs. Themis Klarides, a former legislator and House Republican leader from Derby, has filed paperwork as a candidate.

Bob Stefanowski, who ran unsuccessfully against Lamont in 2018, also is believed to be mulling a rematch but has so far not taken formal steps to that effect.

An early Public Policy Polling survey last month suggested voters surveyed favored Lamont to Stefanowski and Klarides, 52% versus 36% and 32% respectively. A Sacred Heart University poll released in October suggested Lamont had a 50.5% approval rate from surveyed voters, down from 55.7% in April.

Republished with permission from CTNewsJunkie.com, all rights reserved.

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