Former CT House Leader Themis Klarides Weighs Gubernatorial Run

CONNECTICUT — Themis Klarides, a Republican former state representative and House Minority Leader, is considering a run for governor of Connecticut in 2022, she announced this week.

Klarides represented the 114th District, which includes Derby, Orange and Woodbridge, for 22 years, and held the Minority Leadership post for the last five of them. She decided not to seek re-election to the state House in 2020.

Currently, Klarides is an attorney with the Orange-based law firm Marino, Zabel & Schellenberg, PLLC.

In her statement about considering a gubernatorial candidacy, Klarides said she is filing preliminary paperwork with the state Election Enforcement Commission, but she has not started fundraising.

"As I consider a candidacy for Governor in 2022, today I will be filing paperwork with the State Elections Enforcement Commission to indicate that I will be expending personal resources as part of this consideration," Klarides said. "At this point, I will not be accepting contributions or conducting any fundraising as I conduct my due diligence. I believe deeply in the potential of our state, and that the status quo of the Lamont administration has failed our families. I look forward to listening to voters across the state as I carefully consider what is best for our state, our people, and my family."

Klarides is the first Republican to announce a potential candidacy for governor of Connecticut, and should she gain her party's nomination, her likely opponent would be incumbent Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, though Lamont has yet to announce a re-election bid, the Hartford Courant reported.

Lamont defeated Republican candidate Bob Stefanowski in 2018, and Stefanowski also has not announced his intentions for 2022.