Politics

Businessmen Hope To Take Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy’s Seat

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Former GE Executive Bob Stefanowski beat four other Republican candidates in Connecticut’s gubernatorial race Tuesday, while business owner and professor Ned Lamont won the nomination for the Democratic Party.

Stefanowski edged a victory over Mark Boughton, Tim Herbst, Steve Obsitnik and David Stemerman, taking 29.8 percent of the vote at the time of reporting. He will face off against Lamont, who took 83.6 percentage of the vote for the Democratic primary at the time of reporting, according to The New York Times.

Stefanowski major opponent was Boughton, who served in the U.S. Army Reserve between 1983 to 1989, was a high school social studies teacher and was a state Representative for Connecticut’s 138th District, according to his campaign website. Boughton was also endorsed by the state’s Republican party.

Lamont faced Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, who had a difficult road ahead of him as he attempted to recover from corruption charges from 2003. Ganim served seven out of nine years of the prison sentence, NPRreported.

While Connecticut is considered a deep-blue state, the race is open for Republicans, as sitting Gov. Dannel Malloy had poor approval ratings, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Stefanowski’s main focus is on reforming taxes and the economy, according to his campaign website. He was endorsed by Trump and former Reagan advisor, Arthur Laffer. Stefanowski was also able to contribute a significant amount of his own money into his campaign, according to NPR.

Lamont seeks to expand gun control laws, address climate change and resist Trump’s dismantling of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to his campaign website. He was endorsed by several groups including the Democratic Party, Connecticut’s Service Employees International Union and Connecticut’s American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization.

Lamont previously ran against Sen. Joe Lieberman in 2006. While he won against Lieberman in the Democratic primaries that year, Lamont lost once his opponent switched to the Independent party, NPR reported. He was also an adjunct professor of political science and philosophy at Central Connecticut State University.

Republicans could face some struggle to clinch the governor’s seat, as Connecticut voted 56.4 percent in favor of Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, according to The New York Times.

Jodi Rell, who severed from 2004 to 2011, was the state’s last Republican governor.

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