Surrounded by dozens of supporters at New Britain City Hall on Tuesday morning, Republican Mayor Erin Stewart announced she’s officially exploring a run for Connecticut governor.
“We're kicking off the first leg of what could be an almost two year journey to usher in a new generation of leadership in the state of Connecticut,” Stewart said.
Stewart, mayor of Connecticut’s eighth-largest city since 2013, said she is well-positioned to turn around a state she described as “in decline”, given her experience leading and “transforming” the city.
“We were the punchline of everyone's jokes across the state of Connecticut,” Stewart said. “Not anymore, not anymore.”
Stewart painted a picture of herself as a member of a working class she says has been forgotten by Connecticut Democrats.
“That's why I'm doing this, someone just like all of you who are struggling to afford groceries, to pay their crazy electric bills, who's shaking their head at the unchecked and reckless spending by Democrats and those in charge in Hartford,” Stewart said.
Stewart took particular aim at incumbent Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, knocking his failed plan to reinstate highway tolls.
“Ned has a lot of happy-go-lucky ideas. None of them have worked,” she said.
But Stewart said her ultimate decision on whether or not to launch a full run will not be impacted by whether or not Lamont runs for a third term. He has yet to announce a decision.
Asked her thoughts on specific actions by newly reelected President Donald Trump, her fellow Republican, Stewart said she would not “go down the Donald Trump rabbit hole.” But she said she approves of his actions so far and she favorably compared herself to the president.
“You wanna talk about electing somebody who says they’re going to do something and actually does it?” Stewart said. “We knew what we were getting when he won. We knew that everything that’s happened in the last week, all the executive orders, we knew that that was going to happen, because he’s the type of leader who says he’s going to do something and does it. He doesn’t waffle. And I’m that same type of leader.”
Stewart said she’s launching her exploratory phase this early because in her previous bid for governor, in 2018, she announced too late and struggled to raise money. Stewart said an early launch allows for a “long runway for fundraising efforts.”
Stewart said she’d decide by this fall whether or not she’ll launch a full campaign for governor.
