Gov. Ned Lamont stopped short Wednesday of saying he will run for a third term as Connecticut’s governor. But the incumbent Democrat signaled it’s a move that he and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz continue to “strongly consider.”
“Once we got our budget done and the session was over, I said ‘Susan and I are strongly considering doing this again’ – and we’re strongly considering doing it,” Lamont said. “I’ll make some sort of a formal announcement later this summer or early in the fall.”
“We have a lot of unfinished business,” Lamont told Connecticut Public’s “The Wheelhouse,” citing a need for more affordable housing in the state. Lamont said addressing health care costs are another policy goal for a possible third term.
“Health care costs are eating our budget alive as a state – and really tough on working families as well. That will be another priority for me,” Lamont said.
Lamont was first sworn into office in 2019. His second term began in 2023.
The field of candidates for a 2026 run is already shaping up.
On Tuesday, Democrat State Rep. Josh Elliott filed papers to create a gubernatorial campaign committee, positioning himself as a possible challenger to Lamont. Other potential challengers include Republican Jen Tooker, a Westport first selectwoman, and New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, according to the Connecticut Mirror.
On Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’
President Donald Trump has signed his tax and spending bill into law after Republicans muscled it through Congress. At nearly 900 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations.
Lamont said the measure will punish state lawmakers across the U.S.
“It’s really damaging to governors across the country. We’ve just put together balanced budgets,” Lamont said. “And then this comes along – and it’s going to slash Medicaid. It’s going to slash nutrition and food [benefits].”
“I don’t think getting people off of health care, off of Medicaid, makes any difference at all in terms of cost. All it does is shift it,” Lamont said. “It’s going to be federally-qualified health centers that have to take care of people who don’t have insurance. Hospitals using uncompensated care, which means others are going to have to pay.”
Lamont said he expects federal funding cuts to come up in a special session in Connecticut later this year, perhaps in September.
On housing veto
Lamont generated controversy last month when he vetoed a major piece of housing legislation, which was negotiated by members of his office and had the blessing of state Democratic leadership.
The package included some of the state’s most consequential housing legislation in years, seeking to address Connecticut’s affordable housing problem, alongside issues with zoning and parking.
Housing advocates blasted the veto. Pete Harrison, Connecticut director of the Regional Plan Association, a think tank that advocated for the bill, told Connecticut Public last month that there was “a lot of disappointment and, frankly, anger,” calling it a “real poor leadership decision.”
Speaking Wednesday, Lamont said he “didn’t get as focused on this as I could have” during the legislative session and that he decided to issue a veto after conversations with local leaders on both sides of the political aisle.
“There was some ambiguity there that was really scaring the heck out of our mayors and first selectmen,” he said.
Local leaders criticized the bill for sounding “like a mandate,” Lamont said, “although the bill said towns take the lead. So I am working with the legislative leadership to make sure – as the title suggests – towns take the lead.”
The bill will be modified during a special session later this year, Lamont said, noting that local leaders – alongside state lawmakers – are giving the bill a second look.
“We’re going to double down … make it easier to build housing, faster to build housing – and I’m going to do that by making sure our mayors, they’re alongside of us, and not opposing us.”
Learn more
Listen to the conversation with Lamont here.
This story has been updated. Connecticut Public’s Frankie Graziano, Chloe Wynne, Michayla Savitt, Patrick Skahill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
