In Connecticut and Vermont, Tuesday is primary election day. In Connecticut, voters will take the first step to replacing outgoing Governor Dannel Malloy.
On the Republican side, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton is the party's endorsed candidate in a field of five. New England Public Radio’s Adam Frenier asked Hartford Courant political reporter Chris Keating about the GOP's crowded ballot.
Chris Keating, Hartford Courant: Boughton is trying to stay above the fray. He's trying to stay out of the clashes. He doesn't have as much money as David Stemerman and Bob Stefanowski…two business executives who are pouring millions of dollars into their campaign, and they've been fighting about who's the bigger Democrat. So Bouton has been trying to stay out of that and see how far he can get.
Adam Frenier, NEPR: Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont is taking on Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim and the Courant reports that Ganim is upset that some high-ranking Democrats may have been helping Lamont behind the scenes. Has this shaken up this contest at all?
Ganim is not too happy about that. I don't know necessarily that that will be a big impact on the race. Lamont has been spending a lot more money than Ganim and the bottom line is that will be a battle over get-out-the-vote. Ganim is a convicted felon -- convicted of 16 felonies as mayor of Bridgeport -- and some of the old-time Democrats remember that. And there are some people in Connecticut who would not vote for Ganim under any circumstances.
It's no secret that whoever wins in November ultimately will have to deal with Connecticut's fiscal woes. What are the candidates on either side saying about how they deal with it?
Well, a lot of the Republicans want to change the pension system in Connecticut. They think the pensions are too lucrative [and] there's too many of them. There's something called pension COLAs, in which the pensions go up automatically. So, in other words, after you retire, normally a person would get the same pension every year -- say $50,000. Under the Connecticut system you would get a COLA, so that number would go up every single year. So attacking the pensions and the benefits is what the Republicans want to do.
Chris, has President Trump and his administration's policies come up at all among Republicans or Democrats?
It has been, but not as much. I would think that the Trump factor would be a little bit more in the November election. It has come up -- yes. In other words, Republicans arguing over who is loyal to Trump, or not loyal to Trump. The Democrats have been spending time on each other and have not, for example, been bashing Republicans too much over Trump.
Shifting gears, there are contested primaries for the U.S. House seat currently held by Elizabeth Esty in the Fifth District in Connecticut. On the Democratic side, how has this race panned out?
Yes, that's a very good race, a tight race. Jahana Hayes is doing well in her hometown area of Waterbury. Mary Glassman has strength in her native New Britain, and she was first selectman in Simsbury for about 15 years. So that's a very spirited fight.
And finally, Chris, there's three Republicans also running in this race. Whichever one wins Tuesday, can they pick up the seat for the party in November?
Well, they're going to be trying hard. There's a woman named Ruby O'Neill, who is running and certainly sending out a lot of mailers. On those mailers, she is pictured with her husband, who is state representative Art O'Neill. In certain areas, since Art O'Neill is the longest serving Republican in the state legislature, he's probably better known than his wife. But his wife is running and he is not. So Ruby Corby O'Neill is running against a businessman named Rich DuPont and a former Meriden mayor named Manny Santos.
