CONNECTICUT, USA — Election Day is fast approaching, and with it, state residents will be casting their vote for governor.
It's round two for incumbent Gov. Ned Lamont and the Republican candidate for governor Bob Stefanowski. The two previously squared off in the 2018 governor's race.
While the 2018 campaigns were grueling at times, by the end, Lamont said he knew that Stefanowski was working his heart out to change the state. Stefanowski said that all candidates wanted to do the right thing for the state.
Also running for governor at the time as an Independent was the late Oz Griebel, who had a previous attempted run at governor in 2010 as a Republican. Griebel was struck and killed by a car in Pennsylvania in 2020.
The 2022 race has renewed the competition as politics in the four years since has, at times, become more contentious nationally. The election also comes as the country is still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and its after-effects on the country’s and state’s economy including rising inflation.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Sept. 21, Lamont leads Stefanowski 57-40 with likely voters. Independent voters were not cited in the poll.
Here’s a look at the two candidates, where they stand on key issues, their backgrounds, and what they pledge to bring to the table.
Gov. Ned Lamont
Lamont, a Democrat, is the incumbent after being elected in 2018, with his term officially starting in 2019.
From 2019 to 2020, Lamont signed into law several bills including one that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 by 2023, three laws that focused on gun safety, raising the age at which someone can buy tobacco to 21, and a bill that limited police immigration actions in the state.
Another ambition of Lamont was to tackle the state’s infrastructure and improve transportation. Lamont's proposed plan to pay for it would be by reintroducing tolls to the state’s highways. The idea was met with swift backlash from state Republicans, some Democrats, and residents across the state.
After the bill stalled in the state House and Senate, a frustrated Lamont returned to the drawing board, looking at a regional approach to climate change.
In February 2020, Lamont signed the state budget which included a new mileage-based tax on big trucks traveling on Connecticut’s highways.
COVID-19
As Lamont set his sights on what he could bring to the table in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic landed at Connecticut’s doorstep with the first known positive case confirmed on March 8.
The pandemic would be front and center for most of Lamont’s current term, even as we approach election day.
Lamont declared a public health emergency just days after the first few known cases were confirmed, allowing him to make executive decisions without waiting for the legislature to discuss and vote.
Connecticut became the second state to enact a mask mandate (New Jersey was the first), and Lamont handed down restrictions and guidance to help Connecticut weather the still-ongoing pandemic.
Restaurants were closed unless adequate outdoor dining was available, gatherings were prohibited, and people were asked to work from home if possible. Work was already underway at bridging the digital divide for homes lacking adequate online learning resources.
Over the summer of 2020, Connecticut saw positivity numbers under 1% while the rest of the country began to see their positivity rates rise.
But, the restrictions came at a cost, particularly for local restaurants.
2020-2021
During the pandemic and between the executive orders, Connecticut’s legislature went back to business, looking to deliver on its promises and initiatives.
In July 2020, Lamont signed into law a police reform bill in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd’s death sparked national protest and demand for law enforcement reforms.
The police reform bill was controversial, particularly over the change to qualified immunity.
Connecticut also became the eighth state to put the Creating A Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair act, otherwise known as the CROWN Act, on the books. The legislation makes it illegal to discriminate against hairstyles that are historically associated with race.
Lawmakers also tackled the debate over repealing the religious exemption for routine childhood vaccinations. The exemption was repealed on April 27 and signed into law two days later by Lamont.
The bill grandfathers children already in public schools and use the religious exemption.
The state legislature also tackled domestic violence by passing a bill called “Jennifer’s Law.”
The bill expanded the definition of domestic violence to include coercive control. The bill was named for Jennifer Magnano, killed by her husband in front of her children, and Jennifer Farber-Dulos, presumed dead after she went missing in Mary 2019. Her estranged husband Fotis was charged with murder in connection to her disappearance and later took his life in January 2020.
And, after years of back and forth, the Connecticut legislature finally made marijuana legal for recreational use. Connecticut is the 19th state to legalize marijuana for such use.
Another piece of bi-partisan legislation saw the legalization of sports betting in our state.
Connecticut’s two federally recognized tribes as well as CT Lottery offered in-person as well as online betting, including certain casino games, and betting on favorite sports teams. People were able to place their first bets in October 2021.
2022
As Connecticut saw 2022, Lamont continued to work on ways to help residents overcome the economic issues that COVID-19 had caused.
On Feb. 2, Lamont unveiled his first package of proposals for the upcoming legislative session that includes a series of tax cuts, which he said will provide about $336 million in relief to state residents.
One of the biggest moments of 2022 across the country was the initial leak of the U.S. Supreme Court opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade.
When the leak happened, Lamont signed additional protections to Connecticut's already existing reproductive laws that protected a person's right to an abortion. The bill that added the additional protections had passed a couple of weeks prior to the leak as there were already calls for lawmakers to do more in anticipation of the court's decision.
Lamont signed the bill two days after the opinion leak, positioning Connecticut as a pro-choice state, protecting a person's right to choose an abortion, when the court's official decision was handed down at the end of June.
Lamont also took the year to again push climate change in Connecticut. A new law was announced, Public Act 22-25, which contains several measures that the governor's office hoped would improve air quality, improve health outcomes for Connecticut residents, and help mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis.
The governor was also seeking money from the Inflation Reduction Act to help the state battle against the effects of climate change and assist in making the state more climate-friendly.
The state was also awarded over $20 million to help diversify the workplace.
In September, Lamont announced over $150 million would go to help improve air filtration in schools across the state. This topic was top of mind for educators while returning to the classroom during the pandemic.
Lamont is running with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.
Bob Stefanowski
While Stefanowski did not win his 2018 run for governor, he hasn't let that stop him from lacing up his shoes and trying again.
Stefanowski comes from a background in business where he served as chief executive for large companies including General Electric and UBS.
Stefanowski has touted his business background as something Connecticut needs to help working families while curtailing the state’s spending.
Stefanowski’s proposal to fight inflation and provide relief to families includes cutting the sales tax, suspending the state taxes on gas and diesel, and other taxes that he said affect small businesses and restaurants.
In saying if elected he'd eliminate "nuisance" taxes, Stefanowski referenced a Yankee Institute study, claiming there are over 340 taxes in Connecticut.
Stefanowski said the 200 smallest of those deliver less than 0.25% of the total revenue, about $50 million. He said if elected, he’ll immediately direct the state revenue department to stop collecting the taxes, then pass legislation to repeal them.
Stefanowski is also taking aim at property taxes, proposing a homeowner deduction of up to $10,000 for those earning under $200,000 individually and $400,000 jointly.
Regarding abortion rights, the Republican said he would “continue to support Connecticut’s state law, which has codified a woman’s right to choose, with an appropriate ban on late-term abortion.”
Stefanowski also takes issue with Lamont’s “extreme position” that parents do not need to be notified if their child is seeking an abortion and would look to support a mandatory notification to parents for girls under sixteen years old.
In September, Stefanowski unveiled his plan for the future of education in Connecticut.
He calls it the “Parental Bill of Rights,” tackling everything from mask mandates to transgender student-athletes.
He wants to reform issues from eliminating mask and COVID-19 vaccine mandates to barring transgender female athletes from participating in girls’ school sports.
Other issues that Stefanowski outlined that he wanted to tackle include helping Connecticut veterans. Stefanowski said he is looking to work with federal officials to help veterans seek healthcare outside of the VA hospital system in underserved areas.
Stefanowski also promised that his administration would work with the private sector to encourage more veterans to get hired, saying veterans are often discriminated against in the job market due to multiple moves and gaps in employment. No specific detailed plans were announced at this time.
Accountability also is at the forefront of the Stefanowski campaign. He is pushing to strengthen ethics laws and restore funding and staff to the state contracting review board. He also pushes for tax transparency from candidates and to eliminate political perks.
Stefanowski, who has a background in mergers and acquisitions, has acknowledged for the first time in October that he has done consulting work related to a proposed futuristic, green-energy city in Saudi Arabia proposed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Stefanowski told reporters during a Zoom call on Wednesday that he has been and remains a consultant to NEOM, the company that is behind the massive NEOM project. He said he's involved with a three-way venture to build a hydrogen plant. Stefanowski initially confirmed his involvement to Hearst Connecticut Media, in a story published Wednesday, saying he has been involved with the NEOM project since 2019.
You can read more about Stefanowski’s plans and issues on his website.
Stefanowski's running mate is State Rep. Laura Devlin (Fairfield, Trumbull).
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Election Day is November 8 with polls opening at 6 a.m.
Check out our Election Day 2022 Voter Guide here, including how to see sample ballots for your town.
First time voting? Here's what you can expect at the polls.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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