Connecticut Governor Malloy says he will not seek re-election in 2018

(Reuters) - Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy said on Thursday that he will not seek re-election in 2018, choosing to step down at the end of his second term in office. "I will focus all my attention and energy - I will use all of my political capital from now through the end of 2018 - to continue implementing my administration's vision for a more sustainable and vibrant Connecticut economy," Malloy, a Democrat who served two terms as governor, said at a news conference in Hartford, the state capital. A poll released on Tuesday by Morning Consult showed that Malloy was the second-least-popular governor in the United States, with 66 percent of respondents disapproving of the job he had done. That finding was based on a national poll of more than 85,000 registered voters and had a 3 percent margin of error. Malloy said he would spend the rest of his term focused on priorities including reforming the state's budget practices to reduce its reliance on one-time maneuvers to meet expenses and reforming the state's criminal justice system to make it easier for young offenders to have a second chance. (Reporting by Scott Malone in Boston; Editing by Leslie Adler and Lisa Shumaker)