Ned Lamont is deviating from the tradition set by his predecessors and is seeking a third term in the 2026 gubernatorial election. 

Affordability, particularly health care, and lowering taxes for middle-class residents are major motivations for his decision, said Lamont. 

“We’re just getting started,” Lamont said. “This was a state that was really falling back 10 to 15 years ago, with a lot of young people and some businesses leaving the state, and here we are seven years later. We’ve cut taxes, we have one of the fastest-growing economies, a lower unemployment rate and a really good university system, and I want to keep that momentum going.” 

When Lamont formally announced his campaign for a third term as governor, he referred to unfinished work in his administration. He said he is proud that he and his administration turned a budget deficit into a surplus, and he would like to find ways to make health care more affordable for residents. 

“When we came in, our fiscal house was a mess, and we were lurching from deficit to deficit and raising taxes,” Lamont said. “We’ve balanced the budget, our pensions are no longer eating us alive, but now it’s health care costs.” 

Lamont is currently working with State Comptroller Sean Scanlon and Department of Social Services Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves to see what can be done to bring down health care costs. He has also been in communication with Mehmet Oz to explore ways to work with the federal government on the issue. 

Lamont said he supports proposals that would require families to notify the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) when a child is being withdrawn from school to be homeschooled. He pointed to tragedies, including the death of 11-year-old Jaqueline Torres-Garcia and the Waterbury captivity case, in which a man told police he was held and abused for roughly 20 years after being withdrawn from school. 

“We’ve had a few rare but scary disasters when it comes to kids who drop out of the public school system,” Lamont said. “And we want to do a better job of tracking them and making sure that we can keep them safe.” 

Lamont said the tragedies should not be interpreted as a failure of homeschooling families, who he said care deeply about their children. Some homeschool advocates have instead placed the blame on the Department of Children and Families. 

“What we’re trying to do is if you’re not going to school every day where we can keep an eye on what’s going on, at least let us have some sort of a check-in to see how that kid is doing, and if they drop off the radar screen, there is the potential for something bad to happen,” Lamont said. 

Lamont is aiming to regulate social media algorithms that target younger people and has been collaborating with Attorney General of Connecticut William Tong on House Bill 5037, which aims to protect minors from addictive features. 

“We were one of the first states going back a few years to say, for starters, let’s get the smartphones out of the classroom,” Lamont said. “The teachers said it’s incredibly distracting, a lot of the students said ‘Hey, let me be,’ but after a week or two of getting the phones out of the classroom, even the students were pretty comfortable with it, and now we’re saying let’s get them out of the schools bell to bell — from the start of school until the end of the school day.” 

Lamont said he has received good bipartisan feedback on the initiative, and he and his team want to do everything they can to allow kids to engage again. He also would like parents to have more control over the algorithms their children are viewing. 

Benefits Lamont believes the policy has created include reduced anxiety among students and staff. 

“I think there’s a lot of stress and we’re bringing clinics into our K-9 schools, and we’re bringing in counselors,” Lamont said. “And I thought it was all due to COVID-19, and that after a year or so with kids getting together and engaging, we could lower that stress level, but it’s still severe.” 

Outside of distractions, Lamont said he wants kids to engage with each other in what he referred to as a personal and human way, which he hopes will be the outcome of the policy. 

As it relates to Connecticut’s economy, one of the biggest factors Lamont believes is driving up the cost of living is housing. 

“Our population is growing. I need young people here and they can’t afford to buy their first home, and rents are going through the roof,” Lamont said. “A lot of that is related to our housing bill. We’re going to give towns incentives to build more housing in their downtown areas.” 

Lamont said that more broadly his administration has cut taxes for the middle class and is trying to increase wages to make life more affordable. Energy is also a major affordability issue because tariffs have driven up the prices of electricity and heating homes. 

“We need to do a better job there as well,” Lamont said. “We’ve got nuclear power and wind power in place to try and lower the cost of electricity over time.” 

In terms of income tax credits, Lamont said he is more focused on helping people start their own businesses, buy their first home and find ways to build wealth and have a stake in their communities. 

“We’ve had more new business startups, often by people in downtown areas,” Lamont said. “Not big AI tech companies but small local businesses that are getting going. That’s something I want to build on and grow as best we can.” 

Strategies Lamont has used to keep young people living in Connecticut include presenting the state as the most family-friendly in the country and reducing costs for child care. 

“When you want to have your first child, we have paid family and medical leave so that you can take a period of time off, allowing you to keep your job but also take time for that new child,” Lamont said. “We’re going to have one of the most robust early childhood education programs in the country. Universal early childhood education gives kids the best head start.” 

Lamont said he believes these initiatives will motivate people to stay in Connecticut in the coming years. 

Something Lamont said he has enjoyed most about leading Connecticut is hearing from people who say they feel better about the state, and he believes that positive reinforcement is good for Connecticut. 

“That’s why I wake up every day really excited about what I do,” Lamont said. “I think we’re making progress.” 

When asked if there was something about being governor that people might be surprised to learn, Lamont said he values the opportunity to connect with residents. 

“Every day, I get to do a job that I love,” Lamont said. “I take a walk around Elizabeth Park, people come up and I get a chance to see what’s on their mind. I go down to the Capitol and when the Legislature’s in session it can get a little cranky as everyone gets their press releases going, but people are genuinely pretty positive.” 

Lamont also encouraged people to consider public service at some point in their lives. 

“I started out with a young family and did business. I needed to take care of my family and be at home,” Lamont said. “Then I got a little older and I’ve loved the opportunity to serve my state.”