Blumenthal Says He Won’t Run

For Governor

HARTFORD (AP) — Connecticut’s attorney general announced Tuesday that he will not seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal had been considered a leading contender for the nomination. He issued a statement Tuesday saying he plans to run instead for re-election to an unprecedented fifth term as attorney general.

“I love this job,” Blumenthal said. “It affords endless challenges and opportunities to help people.”

Blumenthal’s decision leaves New Haven Mayor John Destefano and Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy as the only announced Democrats in the race.

Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell, with approval ratings hovering at about 80 percent, has said she may announce a decision as early as Friday about whether she will seek a full term as governor.

“She knows very well that the decision to run or not run for governor is a very personal one,” her spokesman David Dearborn said after Blumenthal’s announcement. “She respects the decision and his job as attorney general, but his announcement does not affect her.”

Rell took office in July 2004 after former governor John G. Rowland was driven from the job by a corruption scandal.