Strategist: Republicans Eying Newtown First Selectman For Higher Office

HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork) - The manner in which she handled the murderous rampage of schoolchildren and the adults who so desperately tried to shield them has put Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra in the national spotlight.

Now, Connecticut Republicans are hoping she might run for higher office - perhaps for a Congressional seat or maybe lieutenant governor, WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau reported Wednesday.

Senior Republican strategist Chris Healy told Schneidau that Llodra demonstrated compassion and steadiness following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

"Everyone, probably from the President of the United States on down, got to see this woman up close and what she did in terms of comforting those that suffered grievous loss, but also managing the situation in Newtown, which, as we all know, became an epicenter of national and international stories," Healy said.

"She's very even-tempered. She's not necessarily a politico type, which is why people like her in Newtown and they've returned her to office several times," he added.

Llodra told Schneidau she's flattered, but won't be running for higher office right now, having committed to running for a third term as first selectman and not having thought about what would come after that.

"I'm 71-years-old and I've learned in my later decades here to never rule out anything completely, because the unpredictable and the unexpected have a way of happening. So I tend to think in shorter chunks of time," she said. "But Newtown really is where my heart is."

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