Connecticut Republicans Slammed for Pandering to Trump and His Extremism

Bob Stefanowski and Themis Klarides Face Brutal Uphill Climb

In an opinion column published in The Day this week, David Collins delivered bad news for GOP gubernatorial hopefuls Bob Stefanowski and Themis Klarides, slamming Connecticut Republicans for embracing Trump and his extreme positions and outlining how it will turn voters even further away from the party.

Collins says the Connecticut GOP’s reckless pursuit of Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ “is eroding any credibility the Connecticut GOP can maintain” and that “Connecticut is not going to tolerate a pandering to the crazies.”

Stefanowski ran his first campaign on loyalty to Trump, and when Trump incited the deadly January 6th insurrection, Stefanowski failed to condemn Trump’s lies. He even gave Trump’s presidency an ‘A’ grade and said “we need more” of Trump’s disastrous policies. Klarides will also be stained by her pro-Trump record — including going to the RNC as a Trump delegate in 2016 and praising the former president.

This comes as the Hartford Courant reports on more radicalism from CT Republicans, including how a “Republican lawmaker came under fire for invoking George Floyd’s final words ‘I can’t breathe’ while debating COVID-19 mask mandates in Connecticut, another Republican compared vaccine mandates to slavery.” Instead of condemning this extremism in their own party, both Stefanowski and Klarides have remained silent.

Meanwhile, Gov. Ned Lamont is safely leading the state out of the pandemic and delivering solutions that all Connecticut voters can get behind. Gov. Lamont continues to jumpstart the economy, including signing a historic bipartisan budget that will get people back to work and deliver tax relief to workers. He’s also increased access to affordable health care and raised the minimum wage to $15, earning him high praise across party lines.

DGA Deputy Communications Director Sam Newton said: “The Connecticut GOP has followed the dangerous path of Trumpism for too long — and Bob Stefanowski, Themis Klarides, and any other Republican who runs for governor will be tied to his toxic brand of politics. With Gov. Ned Lamont delivering real progress and growing the economy, Connecticut families will want to keep moving forward — not get behind a candidate in a party that panders to pandemic conspiracy theorists and ‘Big Lie’ extremists.”

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