Father who survived the horrific Connecticut home invasion may now run for Congress
- Dr William Petit Jr was the sole survivor of a 2007 home invasion where the two attackers sexually assaulted and killed his wife and daughters
- In 2011 he married Christine Paluf, a woman he met through the foundation that he set up to honor his wife and daughters' memories
- Paluf announced in August that she is pregnant with their first child
- Now Petit is being considered as a possible Republican challenger to unseat a Democrat in Congress
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The husband who survived the brutal invasion of his home that left his wife and two daughters dead is now being courted by local Republican officials to run for office.
Dr William Petit is known best for being the survivor of the 2007 home invasion that left his Cheshire house burnt and his wife and teenage daughters raped and killed by two men during a robbery gone awry.
He has since gotten remarried and his new wife is pregnant with their first child together, and now he may be launching a political career.
Next ambition: Dr William Petit Jr (seen here at a trial appearance in 2011) is considering a run for Congress
Earlier times: Petit's first wife Jennifer Hawke-Petit (center) and their daughters Micahela (top left) and Hayley (bottom left) were all killed in a 2007 home invasion
The local newspaper reports that he is being considered as a possible contender to challenge the sitting Democrat in the state's 5th Congressional district.
'He certainly has a lot of what people are looking for. He's got strong ideals and he's not afraid to stand up for them,' said Mike Clark, the Town Committee Chairman for Farmington.
'He's lived through hell and back. He's obviously got tremendous internal strength,' Mr Clark told The Hartford Courant.
Mr Clark is not just basing his predictions on optics either as Dr Petit, who made his career as an endochrologist has been meeting with the state Republican Party chairman, Jerry Labriola.
Mr Labriola has not denied their meetings, saying that he has had 'informal discussions with prospective candidates on a regular basis'.
One of the issues that apparently seems the most daunting to the would-be first-time candidate is the schedule as he would have to start campaigning and fundraising very soon in order to be competitive against Democratic Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty.
Moving on: In 2011, he married Christine Paluf, who he met through the foundation that he established in his wife and daughters' memories
Happy turn: In August of this year, the couple announced that they were expecting a baby
Ms Esty was elected in 2012, so she is only in her first term.
He is no stranger to taking a stand and raising money, however, as the Petit Family Foundation that he established in honor of his slain wife and two daughters has accrued $1million that they then passed on to organizations working to support violence victims.
And while it would be his first time running for office, he would not be entirely new to the prospect, as his father launched a failed bid for Senate.
'He'll have to take positions on topics he hasn't really thought a lot about before. … It's getting down to crunch time,' Mr Clark told The Courant.
'Until you do it, you don't realize how much groundwork has to be laid and how much money has to be raised ... it's a lot of dough.'
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The atrocities this man went through I can't imagine.........Pleased he is getting on with his life and has found happiness........I would vote for him
He presents himself as so emotionally fragile, how in the world will he be able to swim with the sharks in politics. He should stay in the little sanctuary his new wife made him.
How depressing that he is a Republican. I will actively support his Democrat opponent.
Dr. Petit is one of the strongest, most passionate, intellectual people on the planet. There simply aren't more important qualifications for office than virtue and intellect. He is exactly the type of man I want representing me, especially with the absolutely dysfunction in Washington today.
Dr. Petit is a man of incredible strength, conviction, passion and intelligence. There simply are no more important qualifications for office than virtue and intellect. This is exactly the type of man I want representing me.
Wow.. I hope he runs and wins. His character and strength is not in question so he is far above most politicians.
Our country was founded by citizens made up of businessmen, farmers, doctors, lawyers etc... not career politicians. He's as much qualified as anyone currently serving in Congress, if not more so. A Republican from Connecticut would be quite feat.
Most citizens are qualified to run for Congress, especially a doctor. Members of Congress were supposed to be average citizens who served for a couple years and then returned to private life. Congress needs more doctors, farmer, engineers, and accountants..... and less lawyers.
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janet, michigan, 38 minutes ago
I'd vote for him in a minute.