Two Republican candidates running for governor of Connecticut used a GOP gubernatorial debate at Fairfield University Wednesday night to argue over which one of them is a real Republican.
Four of the five candidates contesting Connecticut’s August 14 Republican Party primary took part in the debate. The candidates did not differ much on policy including cutting taxes, renegotiating state employee contracts and seeking public-private partnerships to stimulate the economy.
Former hedge fund manager David Stemerman of Greenwich attempted to stand out by doubling down on the theme of an attack ad he’s currently running against rival Bob Stefanowski, a corporate executive from Madison.
“He changed to be a Democrat three weeks before Donald Trump was on the ballot. And he didn’t vote in that election, and he didn’t vote in any election. And the basic responsibility of a citizen is to vote.”
That prompted this response from Stefanowski.
“Yeah, I was a Democrat for nine months. I’ve been a Republican for 25 years. I’ve been endorsed by everyone from Peter Lumaj to Arthur Laffer to Len Suzio. This criticism from the guy on my left who was a Democrat for seven years. Voted as Democrat for seven years in the state of New York. Gave thousands of dollars to Barack Obama.”
That exchange elicited this quip from Westport entrepreneur and Navy veteran Steve Obsitnik.
“I want to check this is the Republican debate, right? Just kidding. I’ll let Bob and Dave talk about who’s more of a Democrat. Tim, we are in the right place.”
That was a reference to the fourth candidate in the debate, former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst. He seized the opportunity to burnish his Republican credentials in his closing statement.
“I never thought I would run for governor in the state of Connecticut and be participating in a Republican primary debate where there was a debate over who in this primary is a bigger Democrat, who’s given more money to Democrats. That’s just nuts. Folks, I’ve been Republican my entire life. I have voted in every single election.”
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, the Republican Party-endorsed candidate in the race, declined to attend the debate which was organized by the Connecticut Conference of Independent Universities.
