SALISBURY — Republican candidates for statewide office sharply criticized Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont during a forum hosted by the Salisbury Republican Town Committee at the White Hart on Thursday, March 26.
Two of the three Republican candidates for governor — Ryan Fazio and Erin Stewart — attended the forum, outlining their cases for unseating Lamont. The third candidate, Betsy McCaughey, did not attend.
Fazio, a state senator representing the 36th District, led the attacks, accusing Lamont of burdening residents with high taxes and energy costs while failing to support economic growth.
He said the state now has the third-highest tax burden in the country, the second-highest electric bills and the fourth-worst economic development climate.
“He has abandoned common sense for ideology and partisanship.”
Ryan FazioPatrick L. Sullivan
Fazio, who represents Connecticut’s 36th Senate District — including Greenwich, North Stamford and parts of Stamford, New Canaan and Newfield — acknowledged the challenge Republicans face in statewide elections but pointed to his own electoral success in a Democratic-leaning district.
He noted that Vice President Kamala Harris carried his district by 17 percentage points, yet he won reelection “by thousands of votes.”
“We worked harder than anyone. We listened. And we presented a vision for substantive change,” Fazio said. “If we can do it there, we can do it statewide.”
Also seeking the Republican nomination for governor is Erin Stewart, the four-term mayor of New Britain, who highlighted her record managing the city’s finances.
Stewart said that when she took office, New Britain was $30 million in debt and that she left with a $35 million surplus.
“We right-sized government. We did it methodically, looking at needs versus wants.”
Stewart also criticized Lamont’s leadership.
“He is asleep at the wheel,” she said. “He has no idea how to manage government.”
The Republican Party will select its nominees at its convention in May.
Other candidates in attendance included Peter Lumaj, who is running for secretary of the state; Chris Shea, John DeBarros and Michele Botelho, candidates for Congress in the 5th District; Fred Wilms, a candidate for state treasurer; Jen Tooker, running for state comptroller; Matt Corey, a candidate for lieutenant governor; and state Sen. Steven Harding (R-30).
