MEMO: Stefanowski’s Record & Policies Are Too Extreme For Connecticut.

To: Interested Parties

From: Chris Sloan, Senior Campaigns Advisor, DGA

Subject: Stefanowski’s Record & Policies Are Too Extreme For Connecticut.

The DGA is all in for re-electing Governor Ned Lamont. He has brought pride back to the state through sound, steady leadership, cutting taxes, balancing the budget, and being a compassionate, rational voice for Connecticut in Hartford.

Bob Stefanowski has spent the last three years primarily out of the public eye. This absence has led Connecticut voters to forget Bob Stefanowski. But no matter how much he tries to refresh his image, the truth is Stefanowski is simply too extreme for Connecticut.

Most importantly – Bob’s right-wing economic policies threatened half the state budget – creating a massive budget deficit – while potentially devastating our schools, raising healthcare costs and potentially cutting care from thousands of Connecticut residents, and forcing property taxes higher for just about everyone.

Secondly – while Stefanowski prides himself on his business record – it’s just as extreme. While running a payday loan company, he personally made millions for himself through a business designed to prey on working people, trapping servicemembers and low-income Americans in a vicious cycle of debt and poverty. His companies, charged interest rates of 450% on loans, helped outsource American jobs to Asia, and had ties to tax shelters for billionaires.

Last, Stefanowski is a proud MAGA Republican, who said Trump deserves an “A” grade as president, refused for a year to admit Trump lost the election, and remained silent during the Jan. 6th insurrection that resulted in five dead police officers. He opposed sensible gun control measures, got an A from the NRA, and refuses to commit to protecting a woman’s right to choose.

Governor Lamont has taken strong action to help families dealing with rising prices, including signing historic tax cuts to lower costs for families, but Stefanowski has opposed these efforts and even attacked the cuts. He thinks a minimum wage is not necessary and opposes giving hard working people a raise. He was against implementing paid family medical leave and his budget plans would have cut Medicaid, the largest source of funding for nursing home care in Connecticut.

All of this – his radical positions, his MAGA political beliefs, and a business career spent profiting at the expense of working people – add up to a candidate who is simply out of touch and too extreme for Connecticut.

The same ultra-right-wing policies led to statewide losses for Republicans in Connecticut in 2016, 2018, and 2020. The 2022 campaign is a rematch from 2018, where Ned Lamont’s effective, pragmatic approach is proving far more appealing to voters than Stefawnoski’s extreme positions.

Please see HERE for the full memo from the DGA on Stefanowski’s extreme record and policies.