Litchfield resident Audrey Blondin announced Wednesday that she plans to stay in the race for the Democratic nomination for Secretary of the State.

The former town selectman was faced with the decision to continue with her 2006 campaign or drop out of the race after current Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz announced that she was running for another term rather than vying for the governor's office.

The secretary of state announced in October 2004 that she would run for governor in next year's election but backed out of the race just weeks ago.

Her announcement prompted two of the six candidates running for the Democratic nomination to immediately drop out of the race and support her. Ms. Blondin, however, said after Ms. Bysiewicz's announcement that she wanted to take time to think about leaving the race, citing the time and money already invested in her campaign.

Ms. Blondin-an attorney in Torrington-started campaigning about a year ago when, in December, she announced her intentions to run for the statewide office. Since then she has collected more than $100,000 in campaign donations and visited more than 80 Democratic Town Committees. Ultimately she has decided to continue with the campaign for the time being.

"For the past two weeks I have been speaking to supporters and political leaders around the state and I am very grateful to all of those who have reached out to our campaign. The political situation statewide is tenuous and fluid, and is not the atmosphere in which a serious statewide office seeker can make an informed decision about next year's political races," Ms. Blondin said in a released statement.

"Out of respect for my main supporters and campaign workers, I have decided to take a patient and deliberate approach before making a decision as to the next step in my campaign," she continued. "Now is the time to focus on getting Democrats elected locally in our municipal races. Then we can turn our attention to next year's statewide race."

©The Hartford Courant 2005