The first of two televised gubernatorial debates in Connecticut before Election Day takes place Thursday night between Republican challenger Ryan Fazio, a state senator from Greenwich, and incumbent Democrat Ned Lamont, also from Greenwich, seeking a third term in office.
The pressure is on Fazio because polls show up to 30% of likely voters, including some of his own Republican voters, don’t know the 36-year-old challenger, said Scott McLean, a political scientist at Quinnipiac University.
“Fazio has a really difficult road ahead because he has to introduce himself to the voters in a very positive light,” McLean said. “But at the same time, he has to be very aggressive against a popular sitting governor. And that is really a tough thing to do.”
72-year-old Democrat Lamont faces less pressure, he said, as he seeks a third term with a more than 20-point lead in recent polls.
“The only thing that Lamont really needs to do is not make a gaffe or say something so off the cuff that he has to retract it later. That could be very bad for him,” McLean said.
Lamont and Fazio are to face off at 7 p.m. on WFSB-TV and streaming on WFSB+.
