CT Gov. Won't Seek Re-election

Connecticut governor Jodi Rell announced Monday that she will not seek reelection in 2010. The moderate Republican, who supported a civil union law in 2005, said that she plans to dedicate the remaining 14 months of her term to addressing the state's considerable financial challenges.

Rell recalled the 2005 civil union law as one of her "favorite memories while in office" when she announced her plans Monday, according to the Associated Press.

"She cited a gay couple who hugged her at Stafford Motor Speedway after she signed the nation's first voluntarily passed civil union bill," the AP reported.

When the Connecticut supreme court legalized same-sex marriage in 2008, Rell maintained that she believed civil unions were adequate, but she did not challenge the court decision.

Rell, 63, took office in 2004 when former governor John Rowland resigned over a corruption investigation that led to his conviction and imprisonment. She won a term outright in 2006, becoming the first Republican woman elected governor of Connecticut.