New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart’s exploratory committee released a poll in late August, showing she is the early favorite among her fellow Connecticut Republicans for the upcoming governor’s race.
The poll results along with what Stewart’s hearing from voters, puts her in good spirits.
“They want to see somebody that they feel represents working class Connecticut that understands what families are going through that are struggling to make ends meet, " Stewart said.
Stewart plans to announce around Thanksgiving whether she’s going to run for governor. She is one of several Republicans across Connecticut either considering or announcing their candidacies, the latest being State Sen. Ryan Fazio of Greenwich.
Stewart ran for governor back in 2018. She lost early on after failing to raise enough funds and enthusiasm during an already crowded primary field.
She announced her interest in running this past February. While Fazio quickly decided to run Stewart said she doesn’t feel pressured to speed up her decision making.
“I'm not letting anybody knock me off my course or knock me off my track of where I think we need to be and when we need to be there,” Stewart said. “I think again, lessons learned from previous campaigns; doing this slowly, methodically in a smart way, is going to be the best for us.”
Stewart said she has already raised around $300,000. She is working to get funding for her campaign from the state’s Citizen’s Election Program and needs $350,000 to qualify.
Connecticut GOP party chairman Ben Proto, said more Republicans are considering a run for governor.
Stewart characterized herself as an outsider in the state party, but Proto praised her along with other candidates like Fazio. Proto says many voters are driven by cost of living issues in the state.
Fazio made his announcement with a video attacking utility rates and saying he would focus on lowering taxes.
But while candidates like Stewart see reason to be optimistic, other voters such as Nerlyn Pierson, the co-founder of Indivisible Greenwich, say they’re worried about the consequences of electing a Republican as governor.
Pierson’s group opposes President Donald Trump’s administration and says its messaging remains deeply unpopular in Connecticut.
Pierson criticized Connecticut Republicans for positioning themselves as moderates focused on cost of living issues, while saying they ignore national impacts on the state’s economy.
“It's going to be hard, at least for Republicans running to make those arguments when Trump's policies are impacting that in a very negative way,” Pierson said. “Trump's underwater on the economy. Prices are going up, and I think they're going to continue to go up.”
Stewart has been more open about her support for Trump compared to his first term, and has croticized some Democrats such as New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker on social media. Stewart did not think doing so would turn off voters.
“Maybe it's a part of my DNA from where I'm from and how I was raised, but I also think that that's the best way to be,” Stewart said. “I've always been a brutally honest person, and that's not going to change.”
Proto said the state would benefit from having someone like Fazio, or Stewart who support national Republican positions on taxes and affordability. Proto says voters will soon see how Republican policies help them as they take effect.
“They're going to look and say, ‘Hey, this is pretty good. We like this. We want more of this. We need more people in Hartford. We need more people in Washington. We're going to help make this happen,’ and I think that's going to be tremendously beneficial for Republicans,” Proto said.
Connecticut has not had a Republican governor since 2011, and voters, according to a survey by the University of New Hampshire,are divided on whether Lamont should run again.
