State Senator Ryan Fazio of Greenwich won the Connecticut Republican nomination for governor at the party’s convention on May 16, 2026, emerging from a field that had been reshaped in the days before the vote when former New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart suspended her campaign amid a fraud investigation. Among the Republican candidates for CT governor in 2026, Fazio secured 92 percent of delegate votes against former New York Lieutenant Governor Betsy McCaughey, who then withdrew and endorsed him. He will face the winner of the August 11 Democratic primary between Governor Ned Lamont and state Representative Josh Elliott.
Who Ran on the Republican Side
The 2026 Republican gubernatorial field started as a two-way contest between Fazio and Stewart. Stewart was widely considered the convention favorite, having raised more than $350,000 during her exploratory campaign and lined up endorsements from roughly two dozen Republican Town Committee leaders. Fazio, who launched his campaign in August 2025, entered with support from Republican legislative leadership in both chambers.1WTNH. Erin Stewart Enters 2026 Connecticut Governors Race
Betsy McCaughey, a 77-year-old conservative Newsmax host making her first Connecticut run, announced in January 2026. Her platform focused on reversing the state’s December 2025 housing law, halting property tax reassessments, capping property tax increases, exempting most seniors from property taxes, and lowering energy costs by eliminating the public benefits charge and banning offshore wind projects.2CT News Junkie. Another Republican Enters CTs 2026 Governor Race
Several other Republicans filed or explored bids without gaining significant traction: Timothy Wilcox of Norwich, Scott Merrill of Norwalk (a three-time former gubernatorial candidate), and former state Representative Harry Arora of Greenwich, who formed an exploratory committee in January 2026.3CT Examiner. Former GOP Rep Creates Exploratory Committee for Governor
Why Erin Stewart Dropped Out
Stewart suspended her campaign on May 14, 2026, two days before the convention. The announcement came less than an hour after the City of New Britain released an investigative report by the Crumbie Law Group examining Stewart’s use of a city-issued credit card during her time as mayor.4NBC Connecticut. New Report Further Details Erin Stewarts Spending on City Credit Card
The investigation reviewed purchases between June 2016 and November 2025 totaling more than $207,000. Investigators alleged Stewart used the card for personal expenses including clothing, baby items, jewelry, and party supplies, and that nearly 60 percent of her purchases lacked supporting documentation. The report described a “pattern of behavior that violated public trust.”4NBC Connecticut. New Report Further Details Erin Stewarts Spending on City Credit Card
Follow-up reporting expanded the allegations. Investigators concluded Stewart bypassed required approval processes to negotiate a roughly $151,000 severance package when the maximum allowed was approximately $16,000, and that she secured a $31,500 tuition reimbursement in violation of city policy. The Crumbie Law Group recommended referring the findings to state and federal authorities, saying Stewart’s actions “may constitute fraud, larceny, embezzlement, false statements, and official misconduct.”5NBC Connecticut. Report Says Stewart Bypassed Approval Process for Severance and Other Payments
As of June 2026, a federal grand jury has subpoenaed the City of New Britain for documents on Stewart’s credit card use, tuition reimbursements, a social club membership, and the Mayor’s Trophy Charitable Fund, confirming a criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI.6CT Mirror. Erin Stewart Subpoena The Connecticut Attorney General and the Commissioner of Consumer Protection have opened a separate investigation into the charitable fund.7CT News Junkie. Former New Britain Mayor Under Investigation for Handling of Charitable Funds Assets The city has demanded Stewart repay $241,560 to cover tuition reimbursements, severance overpayments, and investigation costs. Sources told one outlet that Stewart has met with the FBI and is cooperating.8WTNH. Source: FBI Serves Subpoenas at New Britain City Hall Amid Investigation Into Erin Stewart Stewart has not spoken publicly since suspending her campaign, though she previously said she would make “full and complete restitution” to the city.9CT News Junkie. Stewart Suspends Gubernatorial Campaign After Fraud Allegations
The Convention Vote
With Stewart out, Republican leaders moved quickly behind Fazio. State GOP Chair Ben Proto urged delegates to “end the Republican-on-Republican fights,” and House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora called Stewart’s departure “the only appropriate path forward.”9CT News Junkie. Stewart Suspends Gubernatorial Campaign After Fraud Allegations Stewart herself endorsed Fazio and asked her delegates to back him.10CT Mirror. Ryan Fazio Wins the CT GOP Nomination for Governor
McCaughey pressed ahead at the convention. Delegates voted 955 to 79 for Fazio, well above the 15 percent threshold Connecticut election law requires to force an August primary.11CT News Junkie. CT Republicans Back Fazio for Governor McCaughey then withdrew, endorsed Fazio, and said she would be “standing beside him every day until this election.” Fazio was nominated by acclamation in a voice vote. At 36, he is the youngest candidate to win the Connecticut Republican gubernatorial endorsement since 1990.10CT Mirror. Ryan Fazio Wins the CT GOP Nomination for Governor Avoiding a primary lets him direct resources at the general election from the start.
Who Ryan Fazio Is
Fazio was born in Norwalk, grew up in Greenwich, and graduated from Greenwich High School before earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from Northwestern University in 2012. He has worked as a commodity trader and as a vice president at a growth equity firm.12CT Mirror. Ryan Fazio – Senator Profile He won a 2021 special election to the state Senate representing the 36th District, which covers Greenwich, New Canaan, and parts of Stamford, and was reelected in 2022 and 2024.13CT Senate Republicans. Ryan Fazio – Senator He serves as ranking Republican on the Energy and Technology Committee and on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.
His platform centers on the cost of living. He proposes a $1,500 income tax reduction for the average family and a cap on local property taxes achieved by eliminating unfunded state mandates on municipalities. On energy, he has pledged to cut electricity bills by 20 percent and eliminate the public benefits charge, calling Connecticut’s rates among the highest in the country. He points to a bipartisan bill he helped draft as ranking member of the Energy and Technology Committee that provided $155 million in state bonding to offset public benefits charges.14CT Mirror. Republican Ryan Fazio Opens Campaign for Governor
On public safety and immigration, Fazio has pledged to “crack down on undocumented immigrants” and end what he calls restrictions on law enforcement.11CT News Junkie. CT Republicans Back Fazio for Governor He advocates for local control of zoning, a position he took in February 2026 testimony against a state housing and zoning bill.13CT Senate Republicans. Ryan Fazio – Senator On ethics, he has called for legislators under federal investigation for corruption to recuse themselves or resign.15Ryan Fazio. Ryan Fazio Campaign Fazio has historically kept some distance from Donald Trump, though during the campaign he acknowledged voting for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024.10CT Mirror. Ryan Fazio Wins the CT GOP Nomination for Governor
Campaign Funding
Fazio is participating in Connecticut’s Citizens’ Election Program, the voluntary public financing system that provides grants to candidates who raise a threshold of small-dollar contributions and agree to spending limits. By January 2026 he had raised $272,069 in qualifying contributions, clearing the program’s $250,000 benchmark.16CT Mirror. Ryan Fazio Governor Public Financing In February 2026, the State Elections Enforcement Commission approved a convention campaign grant of $806,875.17SEEC. 2026 CEP Overview As the major-party nominee, he is eligible for an $18.1 million general election grant.10CT Mirror. Ryan Fazio Wins the CT GOP Nomination for Governor Governor Lamont, a wealthy self-funder, does not participate in the program.18CT Insider. CT Public Campaign Financing Citizens Election Governor
What Fazio Faces in November
Fazio’s opponent will be decided in the August 11, 2026, Democratic primary between Lamont, who is not term-limited, and Elliott, a progressive from Hamden who cleared the 15 percent threshold to force the first primary challenge to a sitting Connecticut governor in 48 years. A late May Change Research poll had Lamont ahead 58 percent to 20 percent among likely Democratic primary voters.19CT Mirror. Josh Elliott Campaign Primary Ned Lamont
The historical picture is unfavorable to any Connecticut Republican. The state has not elected a Republican governor since Jodi Rell left office in 2011. Bob Stefanowski, a self-funding corporate executive, lost to Lamont twice: by about 3.2 percentage points in 2018 and by more than 140,000 votes in 2022, when he took just 43 percent. After that loss, Candelora said the party needed to “return the traditional style of politics where people work themselves through the ranks” rather than nominating outsiders.20CT Insider. Bob Stefanowski Loses His Second Bid for Governor Fazio, a sitting senator with a legislative record, fits that description.
No general election poll has tested Fazio against Lamont. A February 2026 poll of Republican likely voters found Fazio with 42 percent favorability and 3 percent unfavorable, and put Lamont’s job approval at 49 percent approve, 45 percent disapprove.21CT Mirror. Poll: Lamont, Elliott, Stewart, Fazio Governor Approval An August 2025 OnMessage Inc. survey, taken before the field shifted, showed Lamont leading Stewart 50 percent to 42 percent.22New York Times. Connecticut Governor Election Polls Connecticut’s registration numbers give any Republican a structural gap to close: as of May 2022, the state had roughly 464,000 active Republicans against 825,000 Democrats and 931,000 unaffiliated voters.23CT Post. Republicans Double Down on Bob Stefanowski for Governor Fazio’s campaign is aimed at unaffiliated voters through pocketbook arguments on taxes, electric rates, and affordability.