Dr. Petit Is Apparent Winner of State House Seat

Dr. William Petit, who survived a 2007 home invasion that took the lives of his wife and two daughters, is the apparent winner of the state House race in Plainville and New Britain.

Petit ran against 11-term Democrat state Rep. Betty Boukus and she conceded to him.

"When you win, you win. When you lose, you lose. You've got to make that bridge," Boukus said of the loss.

Petit said serving the community in Hartford is just a continuation of his family's longtime legacy in Plainville.

“We like to follow with the foundation. ... You must be the change you wish to see in the world. So you got to step up and start trying to make the changes that makes the world a better place,” Petit said.

Petit said he has no plans to try to revive Connecticut's death penalty and is running for as a fiscal conservative.

The two men convicted of the slayings of the Petit women were placed on death row, but then the state abolished the death penalty and their sentences were changed to life without parole.

Boukus is the House chairwoman of the powerful bonding subcommittee.

The race garnered national attention this month when a labor union's political action committee ran an internet advertisement that tried to link Petit to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and "attacks on women and families." 

Boukus said she was horrified by the ad, which resulted in the resignation of the union official who authorized it.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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