​Elliott to challenge Lamont for 2026 Democratic gubernatorial nomination

By Scott Benjamin

Saying that Democrats in the General Assembly have found it “exceptionally hard to deliver on the promises that they made to their constituents” since Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) took office in 2019, state Rep. Josh Elliott has formally entered the race for the party’s 2026 gubernatorial nomination.

Elliott (D-88) of Hamden said that chief among their concerns is “a little more fairness in the tax code. Right now if you live in Connecticut, the less you make the more you pay in your income in taxes.”

However, since Lamont took office in 2019, the minimum wage has risen to $16.35 an hour – more than six dollars an hour more than it was eight years ago.

He has signed paid family medical leave legislation, reduced income taxes for the lower and middle class, but not for the wealthy and established a work force council to train those in the middle and lower class that are seeking jobs.

Elliott, who made a bid for the Democratic nomination for Secretary of the State in 2022, said, for example, that based on 1970s figures, the minimum wage is below where it should be.

“There is a really important caveat to each of these that he [Lamont] doesn’t mention,” Elliott said.

On another topic, former state Comptroller Kevin Lembo (D-Guilford) had been a major proponent of a public health care option that would be available to municipal employees, small businesses and non-profits.

“That is something I absolutely would like to tackle,” said Elliott.

He said he is aware of the “historical reliance” on insurance jobs, particularly in the metro-Hartford area. However, he added, “The cost of care has gone up precipitously. It’s causing people to go into bankruptcy.”

Larry Kudlow of Redding, who served as the director of the National Economic Council for Republican President Donald Trump has said that Republican former President Ronald Reagan thought that if you support me at least 70 percent, you were an ally.,

Does Elliott support Lamont at least 70 percent of the time?

“I believe that the governor is better than any Republican that is thinking about running for office. My candidacy is in no way an effort to undercut the work that the governor has done. However, I do not think that he is best equipped deal with the federal budget cuts and to address the increasing cost of living for the middle class.”

Elliott said he supports property tax reform, an issue that has been discussed in Connecticut for generations.

“Other states have systems that help the municipalities that need more support for their education system,” he remarked. We don’t have that. We don’t send nearly enough money to our municipalities. We have been unwilling to ask those towns more fortunate in the state to chip in a little bit more” to assist the middle and lower-income towns.

Thus, he said the state should revise its fiscal guard rails, which were enacted in 2017 and carry volatility and budget caps that direct money to the rainy-day fund and toward paying down state employee pension obligations.

Elliott, who is in his fifth term in the state House, said that the guard rails “are not sacrosanct.”

“We need to ensure that the way we take people is done so more fairly,” he commented.

State Comptroller Sean Scanlon has called for Zero-based budgeting.

Elliott said that proposal is unrealistic.

“You have made explicit and implicit promises to people who rely on the sate for funding,” he explained. “You can make projections going forward, but you don’t do Zero-based budgeting.”

Regarding job growth, Elliott said the state should be focusing on adding businesses in the culture and the arts, biotech and manufacturing.

Author Scott Johnston recently wrote in a Wall Street Journal column that the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18, since tougher laws have lowered drunk-driving accidents in all age groups since the federal government sought the higher age in the 1980s.

Said Elliott, “I don’t have strong feelings on that,” indicating that it is mostly a federal issue.

In 1992., Republican Vice President Dan Quayle delivered his “Murphy Brown” speech – related to the CBS situation comedy in which the lead character was having a child outside of wedlock.

Quayle said, “Bearing babies irresponsibly is wrong.”

A 2012 Washington Post column stated that Quayle was probably prophetic. In 1992, 30 percent of the newborns were to mothers outside of wedlock and in 2012 it has increased to 41 percent and it probably was “an irreversible trend.” In between, in 2008, then Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said that it was “easy to father a child, but hard to be a father."

The 2012 Washington Post column called on elected officials, the news media and clergy to speak out about the value of marriage in bearing children.

Elliott said he believes that couples can do “perfectly well in raising children outside the confines of marriage.”

He said the issue “will not be part of our campaign platform.”

Political observers have said it is likely that Lamont will seek a third term. The only candidate to formally enter the race for the Republican nomination is Westport First Selectman Jen Tooker. New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart started an exploratory campaign in January and CT Hearst columnist Dan Haar recently reported that state Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-36) of Greenwich is considering a bid for the GOP nomination.

Regarding the campaign, Elliott said he will raise money in small amounts to qualify for a Citizens Election Program grant.

He called his campaign “a fight for the soul of the party.”