In another twist on the state's political rollercoaster ride, state Rep. Arthur O'Neill said Thursday afternoon that he is running for attorney general - slightly more than 24 hours before the state Republican convention opens on Friday night.
O'Neill is working to gather support from delegates before the convention votes on the attorney general nomination Saturday at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
When asked why he waited until Thursday to make the announcement, O'Neill said, "I didn't want to wait for the last possible minute.''
That last minute would have been Friday at midnight, he said.
O'Neill made his decision after the shockingly quick ruling this week by the State Supreme Court that Democratic front runner Susan Bysiewicz is not eligible to run for attorney general because she lacks the necessary 10 years of active practice of the law.
With Bysiewicz out of the race, Republican attorney Ross Garber - her brother-in-law - jumped in on Wednesday. Now, O'Neill has made the same decision.
O'Neill described Bysiewicz as "a Democrat with a huge warchest and very high name recogntion'' - two things that he does not have at the moment. He also described her as "essentially unbeatable unless you were an independently wealthy individual who could afford to spend several million dollars of your own money'' because she had already raised a large amount of money.
"This is an opportunity to take a run at this office,'' O'Neill said during his announcement at the state Capitol press room on Thursday afternoon.