Republican Ryan Fazio challenges Gov. Ned Lamont in Connecticut governor's race
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The gist
Connecticut voters decide between incumbent Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican state Sen. Ryan Fazio on Election Day.
Polls showed Lamont ahead by about 20 points, the widest margin in two decades.
Background
Ryan Fazio is a 36-year-old Republican state senator from Greenwich running for statewide office for the first time. Ned Lamont is the Democratic governor of Connecticut, in office since 2019 and seeking a third term. Fazio has campaigned on tax relief — including an income tax cut and a property tax growth cap — and argues Lamont has had eight years and mismanaged the state's budget. Lamont counters that the state was "lurching from deficit to deficit" eight years ago and is in a better place now.
How it unfolded
- Sep 2, 2026Fazio told the Connecticut Mirror that Gov. Ned Lamont "has essentially destroyed" the state budget caps imposed in a 2017 bipartisan deal.
- Sep 18, 2026Fazio and Lamont laid out competing priorities for improving affordability and opportunity at the annual economic summit in Hartford.
- Sep 22, 2026At a campaign stop in Stratford, Fazio unveiled an income tax cut plan he says would return $2,000 to $2,500 annually to middle-class families by 2031.
- Oct 4, 2026Fazio defended his work record in the race, saying he is more focused on policies than his biography.
- Oct 27, 2026Lamont and Fazio met in their second and final debate at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, clashing over school funding, license-plate reader cameras, federal immigration arrests, electricity prices, taxes, home heating oil and affordable housing.
- Nov 2, 2026A Sacred Heart University/WFSB/CT Insider poll put Lamont ahead of Fazio 53.4 percent to 31.1 percent among registered voters.
- Nov 3, 2026Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. as voters decide between Lamont and Fazio.
Who’s saying what
- Party
- Fazio says Lamont "has essentially destroyed" the state's budget caps and that "after eight years, Governor Lamont's had his chance."
- Official
- Lamont says the state was "lurching from deficit to deficit" eight years ago and "I disagree that we're not in a better place today than we were before."
- Analysts
- The Connecticut Mirror reported that Fazio's "destroyed" characterization of the fiscal caps is "more nuanced" than he puts it, and that his income tax plan is based partly on outdated spending and revenue trends.
Still unverified
The Connecticut Mirror reported that Fazio's claim Lamont "destroyed" the fiscal caps is "more nuanced" than his characterization, and that his income tax cut plan is based partly on outdated spending and revenue trends. Democrats say something is missing in Fazio's biography.