Senate GOP Leader McKinney Drops Out Of Governor's Race

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State Senate Republican leader John McKinney has dropped out of the race for governor.

In a discussion with reporters at the state Capitol on Tuesday, McKinney said that running for governor is "a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week endeavor" that would drain his time from his three young children.

"I don't think it's the right time for me to run for governor or be governor," said McKinney, who is from Fairfield.

His departure leaves at least 11 people running for governor, including former Congressman Larry DeNardis, a Republican from Hamden, who announced Tuesday.

McKinney, 45, will seek re-election to his state Senate seat in November and then seek re-election as the Senate GOP leader.

House Republican leader Lawrence Cafero of Norwalk has done the same — deciding against running for governor and instead running for re-election.

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-governor-mckinney-0113.artjan13,0,7628894.story