Leading Off
●CT-Gov: On Thursday, Connecticut Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy announced that he would not seek a third term next year. While Malloy narrowly won re-election during the 2014 GOP wave, he has posted horrible approval ratings over the last few years. As we've mentioned before, Malloy has suffered from the perception that Connecticut hasn't recovered from the Great Recession as well as its neighbors have. Malloy also has had to deal with ugly headlines from state employee layoffs and from General Electric moving its headquarters from Connecticut to Boston. Malloy is currently trying to convince state employee unions to accept concessions in order to help plug the state's $1.7 billion deficit.
Campaign ActionMalloy's decision undoubtedly comes as a relief to his fellow Democrats. While Connecticut is a dependably blue state in federal elections, it has been more than willing to send Republicans to the governor's office. Before Malloy's 2010 victory, the last time a Democrat won the governorship was in 1986, when Gov. William O'Neill was re-elected.
Republicans will certainly do everything they can to argue that whoever emerges with the Democratic nomination next year will continue Malloy's unpopular governorship, but their job won't be quite as easy without the incumbent on the ballot. Donald Trump lost the Nutmeg State 55-41, and Democrats will try and connect the GOP's gubernatorial nominee to the White House.
Republicans were already gearing up for this race before Malloy made his move. Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti and state Rep. Prasad Srinivasan have each announced that they will run, 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. There is no clear frontrunner at this point, and it's very possible that there are other GOP candidates considering getting in. It's also possible that some of the people who have formed exploratory committees will end up seeking a different statewide office.