New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart Announces Run for Governor

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart announced in a news conference Monday that she will enter the race for Connecticut governor. 

Stewart, 30, was featured in “Newsmax’s 30 Most Influential Republicans Under 30” and in “Newsmax’s 100 Most Influential Republican Women” in 2017. She was first elected as New Britain’s mayor at age 26 and was re-elected in 2015 in a largely Democratic state. 

The bipartisan Republican said positive feedback around the state helped her make the decision to run after she began to explore the option in January, the Hartford Courant reported.

“The overwhelming response from the people of the state is what drove me to do this,” Stewart told reporters at Central Connecticut State University, the Courant reported. 

Stewart needs to raise $250,000 in small contributions in order to qualify for the public campaign financing program in the state. She has not said how much has been raised so far, other than that she hadn’t reached the $200,000 mark that would allow her to participate in a Republican gubernatorial debate at New Britain High School next month.

“I’m not at the $200,000 mark, not by any means, but we are raising money at a steady pace,” Stewart said, the Courant reported. “But to say that I would have $175,000 in the bank by April 4 is a little unreasonable.”
The current expected field for the race is mostly male-dominated and may include the mayors of Bridgeport, Hartford, Danbury, and Shelton, the Connecticut Post reported.

Stewart’s father, Timothy Stewart, was formerly mayor of New Britain.

Erin Stewart noted she wiped away a $19 million budget deficit in her time as mayor, as well as bringing a new baseball franchise to New Britain after losing one to Hartford. 

• Newsmax’s 30 Most Influential Republicans Under 30
• Newsmax’s 100 Most Influential Republican Women