The Republican field is filling up in Connecticut’s 4th District. State Sen. Dan Debicella, one of the GOP favorites now that state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney is out, confirmed Tuesday that he will run.

“We need Washington to start creating practical solutions to improve the quality of life for Fairfield County families,” Debicella said in a statement. He indicated he would be “a moderate voice,” and “an independent-minded congressman in the mold of Chris Shays,” the former Republican congressman who was upset in 2008 by Democrat Jim Himes.

Debicella described himself as a fiscal conservative and social moderate, supporting abortion rights and state funding for stem cell research.

Debicella is in his second term in the state Senate, and also works at the insurance company The Hartford Financial Services as assistant vice president of m
Marketing. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and previously worked in management consulting at McKinsey and as Director of Strategy at PepsiCo.