Former U.S. Rep. Chris Shays is not running for governor, casting aside speculation that he might run.
Shays had never said he was running, but some Republicans were urging him to explore the race because he would instantly have been the most experienced, most high-profile Republican in the race. None of the Republicans in the race has ever served in Congress, where Shays had 21 years of experience from the Fourth Congressional District.
He was also nationally known for his support of the Iraq War and other issues.
Shays came to the state Capitol on the opening day of the General Assembly session on February 3, standing in the back of the Hall of the House as Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell delivered her final State of the State Address. Before Rell’s speech, Shays walked up to the Capitol press room and told Capitol Watch that he was simply listening that day to fellow Republicans – and would not be making any pronouncements about the race.
After serving in Congress from the summer of 1987 until January 2009, Shays has higher name-recognition than any of the GOP candidates in the field. He won a multi-pronged primary on a hot summer night in 1987 to capture the seat that had been held by former U.S. Rep. Stewart McKinney.
The GOP field includes Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele of Stamford, former Bush appointee Tom Foley of Greenwich, longtime business executive Oz Griebel of Simsbury, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, Newington Mayor Jeff Wright, former U.S. Rep. Larry DeNardis of Hamden, and Chester First Selectman Thomas E. Marsh.
Shays joins a well-known group that has dropped out of the governor’s race this year, including Gov. M. Jodi Rell, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, former House Speaker James Amann, and state Sen. Gary LeBeau.
The news of Shays dropping out was reported first online in the Capitol Report, a relatively new Web site.