Dan Haar: Will he run? Lamont interview reveals doubts about a third term for Connecticut governor

CT Insider – Thursday, March 27, 2025
By Dan Haar

Will he or won’t he? The guessing game about whether Gov. Ned Lamont will seek a third term heated up this week as the governor talked about it on stage in West Hartford.

This time, in an interview with John Dankosky at a CT Mirror event at the University of Hartford Wednesday night, Lamont seemed to show more doubt than we’ve heard in recent months.

What factors will go into the decision? Dankosky asked. “My factor is to stay away from that question as long as I can,” Lamont quipped.

His official answer has not changed. He’ll end speculation on the 2026 race after the legislative session that’s set to end in the second week of June. “We’ll get back in July,” he said Wednesday.

People close to Lamont don’t believe he’s made a decision yet. He mused about it at the CT Mirror event.

“I’ve got 187 legislators and I’ve got 169 mayors and each and every one of them come into my office every day and they say, ‘If you want my support, I want’ … whatever it might be,” he said, obviously not meaning he actually hears from hundreds of state and local officials each day.

“I’m in a position right now to say, ‘Look, I love the job, I love what we’re doing, I think the state’s doing OK but I haven’t made up my mind.’ I’m 71 years old. Life marches on. … I’m going to get through this legislative session. I’m not going to be [inaudible] by politics.”

In those comments, he seems to be saying he doesn’t want to be viewed as a lame duck during the session, and of course, “life marches on” speaks for itself.

When Dankosky asked, “Do you still like this job?” Lamont responded, “Yeah, I like it,” in a tone that one political observer described as lacking the zeal a spouse would want to hear if the question were about a marriage.

Lamont in 2024 appeared to be leaning heavily toward seeking a third, four-year term. As a moderate Democrat who tends to avoid conflict whenever possible, with years of large budget surpluses in the books, he’d be the strong frontrunner — barring a recession or some other calamity.

Now, Lamont has to be thinking about the famous third-term curse in politics as gripes and issues pile up; and about the effects of Trump’s federal aid cutbacks; and the inevitable economic downturn. He has to be thinking about the strong legacy he’d leave if he exited at the end of 2026.

Four or five younger Democrats are eager for a shot, some of them actively lining up support in case Lamont, who beat Republican financial executive Bob Stefanowski in 2018 and 2022, does choose to retire. None are likely to run against him.

The Greenwich resident, a former cable TV entrepreneur, is heir to one Wall Street fortune and spouse of Annie Lamont, a venture capital investor who has amassed another fortune of her own. He’ll turn 73 the weekend before the next gubernatorial inauguration in January 2027.

Dankosky: “At a certain point, do you think it’s important to move aside and let someone else do the work? American politics, some would argue and I think a lot of younger people argue, is somewhat problematic because of the age of the people who do the work.”
He made it clear he does not consider Lamont old.

“I think we’re a state that’s making progress. I think we were really down on ourselves as a state 10, 15 years ago,” he said, closing the conversation. “I need people to be as pumped up about the state as I am every day and that’s why I do what I do.”

Lamont: “I think abut the fact that J.D. Vance is really smart and doesn’t have a clue about how the world works either” — a nice shot at the 40-year-old U.S. vice president.

Biggest laugh line of the night. Dankosky, a former longtime host on WNPR and consummate pro interviewer, turned to the audience and said that was a better response than he expected.

My view: The Lamont Run-o-Meter stands at 51 percent yes, down from 60 percent yes a month ago. Lamont talking about his tenure could be a sign either way.

Dan Haar is columnist and senior editor at Hearst Connecticut Media Group, writing about the intersection of business, public policy and politics and how the issues affect the people of Connecticut.

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