New Britain’s mayor: ‘I’m ready to explore a run for governor'

NEW BRITAIN, CT (WFSB) - New Britain’s mayor officially announced on Tuesday she filed paperwork to explore a run for governor.

Mayor Erin Stewart held a news conference at 10 a.m. to make the announcement.

Reports said that the Republican filed paperwork with state election officials last week. Tuesday, she confirmed that.

Stewart will see if she can raise money and gain the popularity. We are 644 days from the November 2026 election.

She set a goal of raising $350,000, and not from special interests or millionaires.

She said she is participating in a citizens elections program where the maximum contribution is $375 per person. That would mean she needs about 1,000 people to donate.

Stewart said she thinks that’ll happen.

She argued that Connecticut was not in a good spot. She also took some shots at Gov. Ned Lamont.

“I refuse to settle,” Stewart said. “I refuse to stay idle while we watch the decline of our great state, the state that we love. And let’s face it, we know that Connecticut is stuck in neutral. More likely, we’re in a decline, taxes and the cost of utilities are simply way too high. Young families like mine struggle every day to make ends meet. We’re losing business and talent to other states. We have no long term vision of where as a state we want to go.”

When asked what she would do differently than Lamont, she laughed and said “everything. It’s time for a new generation of leadership.”

She said a full decision would be made sometime in the fall.

Four months ago, Stewart announced that she would not seek a seventh term as mayor.

In 2013, she became the youngest mayor in New Britain’s history at 26 years old.

She did run for governor in 2018, but the campaign failed. She says she has learned a lot since then and is ready to give it another shot.

“This is absolutely going to be a people powered effort. I don’t have the means to finance my own campaign, to write a check for millions of dollars. To do this a pure people powered effort, and I’m looking forward to the next several months as I explore my viability, and I hope to make a decision whether to launch a full candidate committee sometime in the fall, but that decision is absolutely predicated on the success of this exploratory effort,” Stewart said.

In New Britain, Stewart has earned at least 60% of the vote in the last 3 elections. The big question is, can that popularity in New Britain translate to the entire state?

“I refuse to settle. I refuse to stay idle while we watch the decline of our great state, the state that we love,” Stewart said.

Governor Lamont has not decided if he will seek a third term.

“I am not afraid of Ned Lamont. I wouldn’t be doing this if I were,” said Stewart.

Sherine Edwards, a New Britain resident, is hoping Stewart launches a full campaign for governor.

“I think that’s good. Always give people a chance. She ran already, give her another chance. Have her run again,” she said.

Stewart also commented on the first eight days of President Trump’s second term.

“We knew what we were getting when he won. We knew that everything that’s happened in the last week, all the executive orders, we knew that that was going to happen because he’s the type of leader who says he’s going to do something and he doesn’t waffle. I’m that same type of leader,” she said.