By Anne White
Greenwich sits at the center of Connecticut’s governor’s race after the state party conventions, with Gov. Ned Lamont seeking a third term, state Sen. Ryan Fazio securing the Republican nomination and Hamden state Rep. Josh Elliott forcing an August Democratic primary.
Lamont, a Greenwich resident and two-term Democratic governor, won his party’s endorsement Saturday. He defeated Elliott, 1,468 delegate votes to 501, giving him 75 percent of the convention vote and the party’s formal backing heading into the Aug. 11 primary.
“I am honored to earn the strong support of the Democratic delegates today, and I look forward to getting out and making the case for how we can build on the progress we’ve made in turning Connecticut around,” Lamont said in a campaign statement after the vote
Lamont’s convention message centered on continuity. His campaign cited balanced budgets, pension debt payments, credit upgrades, paid family and medical leave, a higher minimum wage, child care and education investments and middle-class tax cuts. “Our party is united by a clear vision for the future,” Lamont said, arguing that voters would choose to “keep Connecticut moving forward.”
Fazio, also of Greenwich, left the Republican convention with a direct path to November. Former New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart suspended her campaign before the convention and endorsed him. Former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey failed to reach the 15 percent threshold needed to qualify for a primary. Fazio won 92 percent of the convention vote and became the party’s nominee.
“I proudly accept your nomination for governor of the great state of Connecticut,” Fazio told delegates. “Connecticut is my home. It always has been and it always will be.”
Fazio framed his campaign around affordability, energy costs, lowering high taxes, public safety, and opposition to over-reaching progressive Democratic control in Hartford. He turned toward Lamont in his speech, saying, “After eight years, Gov. Lamont believes he needs four more. Four more to do what?!” Fazio promised “the largest middle class tax cut in state history,” “historic property tax reform” and a 20 percent reduction in electricity rates.
Elliott, a fifth-term Democratic state representative, emerged from the Democratic convention with enough support to challenge Lamont in a primary. He is running as a progressive alternative, arguing that Connecticut should tax its wealthiest residents more aggressively and use state government to reduce costs for working- and middle-class families.
“Connecticut’s tax code is regressive. Working- and middle-class families pay more proportionally than the ultra wealthy,” Elliott’s campaign platform states. The campaign calls for higher taxes on residents earning more than $1 million annually, a permanent refundable child tax credit, more state education funding and changes to fiscal rules.
Elliott has also made utility policy a central part of his campaign. “I’m not just going to complain about Eversource,” his platform states. “I have a policy platform to break their grip on our state.” His proposals include reviewing Eversource’s franchise rights, changing eminent domain rules for utility infrastructure and expanding public power options.
The Lamont-Elliott primary now becomes the first major test after the conventions. Lamont is asking Democratic voters to reward a record built on budget discipline, tax relief and statewide administrative experience. Elliott is asking those same voters to choose a more aggressive agenda on taxes, health care, housing, labor and energy policy.
Lamont did not dwell on Elliott in his convention remarks. He focused much of his speech on President Donald Trump and national Republicans, while urging Democratic unity. “We’re here on behalf of the people who voted for us and on behalf of the people that didn’t vote for us, because that’s what we do,” Lamont told delegates. “We’re Democrats.”
Elliott’s convention showing demonstrated that a meaningful share of Democratic activists want a different debate before the party turns to Fazio. He visited Democratic town committees in 135 of Connecticut’s 169 towns before the convention, building the delegate support that put him on the primary ballot.
For Fazio, the conventions produced the opposite political calendar. Republicans left Uncasville with a settled nominee, no primary and several months to define the race against the eventual Democratic nominee. Fazio represents the 36th Senate District, which includes Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan, and he has won the seat three times since 2021.
The Greenwich connection gives the campaign local significance. Lamont served on the Greenwich Board of Selectmen and the Board of Estimate and Taxation before becoming governor. Fazio was raised in Greenwich, graduated from Greenwich public schools and built his State Senate career in a district anchored by the town.
A Lamont-Fazio general election would put two Greenwich residents at the top of Connecticut’s ballot. An Elliott-Fazio race would place Elliott’s progressive platform against Fazio’s affordability, tax reduction, and energy agenda.
