NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Connecticut doctor whose wife and two daughters were killed in a 2007 home invasion that horrified the country has been approached about running for public office and is thinking about entering politics, his sister said.

Dr. William Petit, the only survivor of the hostage ordeal in the suburban community of Cheshire, has had talks recently with Republican Party officials, his sister Johanna Chapman told The Associated Press. Petit, who has remarried since the invasion, did not return a telephone message left at his house.

“He’s been recruited,” Chapman said. “But I think it’s a large decision and he and his wife, Christine, are going to have to mull it over and decide whether it’s something that they want to do based on the fact that they’re expecting a new baby in the beginning of December.”

Petit has had a few phone conversations in recent months with Republicans about running in the 5th Congressional District, according to a Republican official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential conversations with a potential candidate. The official characterized the talks as exploratory and said Petit was considering a possible run.

Petit campaigned against the repeal of Connecticut’s death penalty after his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and their daughters, 17-year-old Hayley and 11-year-old Michaela, were killed.

The family was held hostage for hours by two paroled burglars and their home set on fire. Petit was beaten, tied up and taken to the basement, but he managed to escape and crawl to a neighbor’s house for help.

Steven Hayes, 50, and Joshua Komisarjevsky, 33, have been sentenced to death for the killings.

Hawke-Petit lived in Slippery Rock during her elementary school years. Her parents, the Rev. Richard Hawke and his wife, Marybelle, still live in Slippery Rock.