With the midterm elections fast approaching, the many races that will be decided on November 2 across the country are beginning to heat up. Current Attorney General for Connecticut Richard Blumenthal is running for the Senate seat vacated by Democrat Christopher Dodd, which leaves the race for Attorney General wide open. The College Voice, represented by Jazmine Hughes ’12, Matt Mitchell ’12, and Seth Nigrosh ’14 and myself, had the opportunity on Thursday, October 14 to interview the Democratic candidate for Attorney General, George Jepsen.
Jepsen served as the Stamford representative to the Connecticut State Senate from 1991 to 2003, where he was the majority leader for his final six years in office. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School and has been an attorney more for than 26 years. He ran for Lieutenant Governor with Bill Curry in 2002 and served as the Democratic State Party Chairman from 2003 to 2005.
In the interview, Jepsen presented himself as a pro-business politician whose first goal, if elected, would be to create more jobs for Connecticut by promoting business and encouraging green practices, which he said would benefit us both environmentally and economically. He discussed his opponent Martha Dean as someone whose beliefs are “way outside the political and cultural mainstream of Connecticut, and outside the mainstream of constitutional interpretation.”
He expressed no doubt that the current Attorney General will defeat Linda McMahon in the race for the Senate. When asked what he learned from his losing campaign for Lieutenant Governor in 2002, he candidly said, “Losing sucks.”
Jepsen discussed his family life, love for cooking and advice for college students looking to get started in politics: “Campaigns are always looking for bright volunteers. It’s a meritocracy in the sense that if a campaign is doing its job, if somebody shows talent, they’re going to move up in the ranks because there’s always more to do.”
Below are a series of clips from our interview with Jepsen:
Jepsen on his background:
Jepsen on Richard Blumenthal’s legacy as Attorney General
Jepsen on the role students can play in the upcoming midterm election
Jepsen on his opponent Martha Dean
Jepsen on how Blumenthal’s campaign for Senate is going
Jepsen on his home life
Jepsen’s on Pfizer leaving their New London facility
Jepsen on what he has learned from losing in past campaigns
