After months of delays, Gov. Ned Lamont will be running for a third term as his popularity ratings remain solid.
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. He 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.
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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.