Dr. William A. Petit Jr. has opted out of a congressional run in 2014.
State Republican Party Chairman Jerry Labriola began talking with Petit late last summer about a run for the 5th Congressional District seat and Petit reportedly met with an official from the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee last week.
Petit seriously considered the idea but ultimately concluded that the timing for a run wasn’t right.
“I had been approached by a number of people who urged me to consider this possibility and suggested that I could make a difference if elected,” Petit said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “I have always felt it is a great responsibility and privilege in a democracy to run for public office, and that those who care about good government need to be willing to get involved. That said, I am newly re-married and have a 10 week old son with whom I am spending a lot of loving time. That is my clear priority, and I feel particularly blessed to be able to devote my time to them and to continue to volunteer for the Petit Family Foundation at this stage of my life.”
Petit, the lone survivor of the Cheshire home invasion in 2007 in which his wife and two daughters were killed, was being wooed by Republican leaders to run for the 5th District seat. U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, a Democrat from Cheshire, won the seat in 2012.
By Daniela Altimari, Hartford Courant