Saying “It’s time for something different,” former New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart issued an invitation Monday to the kickoff for her campaign for governor. Stewart filed paperwork to join state Sen. Ryan Fazio in the race for the Republican nomination to challenge Gov. Ned Lamont, who officially announced his reelection bid last week.
Stewart issued the invitation to a public announcement to precede a private $50 per person to be held Thursday at New Britain Stadium. The invitation is coy, saying “I’ve made the decision, and I want you to hear it directly from me!”
While her campaign has been unofficial until now, Stewart has already been hard at work raising money and talking to voters. In August, the Stewart campaign announced she had raised more than $300,000 in small contributions on her way toward qualifying for public financing. With a jab to Lamont and Fazio, both of whom live in Greenwich, Stewart identified herself with middle-class voters.
“People are investing because they’re looking for a leader that fundamentally understands their concerns and worries — someone who, like them, understands the financial difficulties of raising a family in Connecticut, someone who comes from a community like theirs,” Stewart said.
Shortly thereafter she released internal polling that put her ahead of Fazio with a lead of nearly 30 points. While the poll was immediately dismissed by Fazio, who had only recently joined the race, Stewart is well-known in the Greater Hartford Area for her 12 years as New Britain’s mayor when she gained frequent media attention and a large following thanks to savvy social media use. She is also known for a 2018 bid for governor before she dropped out and ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor.
“With a clear fundraising edge and decisive poll numbers, Mayor Stewart is the only viable GOP potential candidate,” said Morgan Wilson, a senior political adviser to the mayor. “While others put out boilerplate announcement videos echoing the talking points of Hartford insiders, Mayor Stewart has been traveling the state, listening to real voters. If she decides to run, it will be to represent working families across the state with a new generation of proven leadership for Connecticut that no one else can offer.”
Fazio has been gaining ground in the governor’s race by accumulating endorsements including the state’s top Republican legislative leaders, Senate Republican leader Stephen Harding of Brookfield and House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford, and many of his colleagues.
“Ryan Fazio is the best candidate to represent our Republican Party in November,” Harding said in a statement. “Ryan has a proven record of winning difficult races while remaining loyal to the core values of our party.”
Fazio has been outspoken on energy costs in Connecticut and Candelora pointed to that in his endorsement.
“Ryan will be a governor Republicans can trust to fight for lower taxes, lower utility costs, support our law enforcement, and reverse Ned Lamont’s sanctuary state policies for good,” Candelora said.
Stewart has already released a list of supporters that include 12 current and former state legislators, including former state Sen. George Logan, who raised his profile by running twice unsuccessfully against Democrat Jahana Hayes in the last two election cycles. Stewart’s endorsement list also includes more than 30 selectmen and town council members, more than 20 local Republican chairs, and 13 state central committee members, among others.
Lamont announced his long-awaited decision to seek a third term last week with a tour of the state and a 2-minute campaign video highlighting a multipronged platform on affordability. Lamont touted his success in righting Connecticut’s fiscal ship and promised to work to bring down the state’s high cost of energy, housing and health care.
“When I became governor, I found a state that was in a world of hurt, lurching from deficit to deficit,” he says in the video. “We were shortchanging education. Our state employees hadn’t got an increase. Cool kids moved to New York, GE moving to Boston. I said, ‘We’re turning around the moving vans.’”
Now, his plan includes a potential take on a public health care option that would have the state partner with UConn Health for care.
Lamont wants to “see if I can drive state employees and retirees to UConn Health, which now includes Waterbury. It may include some other hospitals,” he said in an interview with the Courant. “Save folks 10, 15, 20% on their insurance premiums and save the state a little bit of money as well.”
On other issues, he has aligned with his progressive challenger state Rep. Josh Elliott of Hamden who has said he would tax the rich and invest in families, children and housing.
“He and I have agreed on so much,” Lamont told reporters earlier this year. “We had the biggest increase in the minimum wage. They had been fighting for $15 [per hour] for many years. We got that passed. They’ve been talking about a universal, early childhood education for years. We’re getting that passed. They’ve been talking about paid family and medical leave for many years. We got that passed. These are all things that help working families and middle-class folks in this state. We’re going to keep going.”
But in response to Lamont’s campaign announcement, Elliott said the governor has failed to stand up to Trump and again called on him to step aside.
“Ned has had eight years to show not just the party, but the state, how their lives would be improved with him returning to lead. By nearly every metric, he has not done so,” Elliott said.
“His track record on housing, affordability, education, taxes, and most recently, on SNAP benefits shows that Ned is out of touch with working-class people. Instead of doing what’s best for everyday Connecticut residents, he consistently makes decisions based on what is best for his friends on Wall Street.”
Stewart, in her invitation, noted that the public announcement from 5 to 6 p.m. Thursday would be held outside.
“If you plan on attending the event, make sure you dress for the weather!,” she said.
Reporting from Courant reporter Christopher Keating is included in this report.
