Dr. William Petit will not run for Congress

Dr. William Petit, who was thrust into public life by the murders of his wife and daughters in a home invasion in Cheshire, has ruled out a congressional run in a statement sent Wednesday to the Associated Press.

Petit, an activist on victims’ rights and a defender of the death penalty in public hearings at the State Capitol in recent years, had been urged by some Republicans to seek the GOP nomination in the 5th Congressional District.

He is remarried and the father of a 10-week-old son, factors that helped him decide against seeking the seat held by freshman U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, the AP reported.

Petit would not have had an easy path to the nomination: Mark Greenberg has been running hard for months, lining up endorsements from likely delegates to the convention that will nominate a candidate in May.

The 5th District, which covers western Connecticut and some western suburbs of Hartford, is the state’s most competitive. Democrats now hold all five congressional seats in the state.