William Petit, whose family was killed in home invasion, running for Conn. office

Dr. William Petit, whose family was killed in a brutal home invasion nearly a decade ago and who later became a pro-death penalty advocate, reportedly is running for the Connecticut state legislature.

Fox61 in Hartford reports he’s been nominated to run for the state House as a Republican. Petit has long been urged to run for office but has not done so until now.

“Dr. Petit, like many people in the state, realize it's time to fix Connecticut, and it takes Republicans to do it," State Republican Party Chairman J.R. Romano told the Hartford Courant.

He would be running against incumbent Democratic Rep. Betty Boukus.

Petit was the only survivor from the 2007 Cheshire, Conn., home invasion in which his wife and two daughters were killed.

The convicted murderers were later sentenced to death. The state, though, later abolished the death penalty, rendering their sentences life in prison. Petit, who also runs the Petit Family Foundation, opposed the death penalty repeal.