2018 Connecticut gubernatorial election

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The 2018 Connecticut gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor and lieutenant governor of Connecticut, concurrently with the election of Connecticut's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.

Quick facts Turnout, Nominee ...
2018 Connecticut gubernatorial election

 2014
November 6, 2018
2022 
Turnout65.23% Increase
 
Nominee Ned Lamont Bob Stefanowski
Party Democratic Republican
Alliance Working Families Independent
Running mate Susan Bysiewicz Joe Markley
Popular vote 694,510 650,138
Percentage 49.37% 46.21%

Lamont:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Stefanowski:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Tie:      40–50%

Governor before election

Dannel Malloy
Democratic

Elected Governor

Ned Lamont
Democratic

Close

As Connecticut does not have gubernatorial term limits, incumbent Democratic governor Dannel Malloy was eligible to run for a third term, but declined to do so.[1][2][3] After the resignation of Kansas governor Sam Brownback in January 2018, Malloy became the most unpopular governor in the United States.[4][5] The general election was between 2006 Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Ned Lamont, and Republican financial executive Bob Stefanowski. Independent candidate and former Republican Oz Griebel has been called a spoiler candidate for Stefanowski, earning 3.89% of the vote.[6] Lamont was re-elected governor in 2022 in a rematch with Stefanowski.

Democratic primary

Governor

Democratic nominee

Lost the Democratic primary

Withdrew prior to the Democratic primary

Declined

Primary endorsements

Susan Bysiewicz (withdrew)
State legislators
Mayors and other municipal leaders
Sean Connolly (withdrew)
State legislators
Jonathan Harris (withdrew)
Statewide officials
State legislators
Mayors and other municipal leaders
Ned Lamont
U.S. executive branch officials
Withdrawn candidates
U.S. representatives
Statewide officials
State legislators
Party leaders
  • Kevin Comer, chairman of Washington Democratic Town Committee[42]
  • Karen Jarmoc, member of Democratic State Central Committee[42]
  • Barbara Reynolds, member of Democratic State Central Committee[42]
  • Steven Sheinberg, chairman of Fairfield Democratic Town Committee[42]
  • Audrey Tyson, member of Democratic State Central Committee[42]
Newspapers and magazines
Mayors and other municipal leaders
2018 candidates for office
  • Amanda Webster, Democratic nominee for Connecticut representative from the 62nd District
Labor unions

Results

Results by county
  Lamont
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  •   >90%
Results by municipality
  Lamont
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  •   >90%
  Ganim
  •   50–60%


More information Party, Candidate ...
Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ned Lamont 172,024 81.2
Democratic Joe Ganim 39,913 18.8
Total votes 211,937 100.0
Close

Lieutenant governor

Democratic nominee

Lost the Democratic primary

  • Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman, activist[53]

Withdrew

Results

Results by county
  Bysiewicz
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
Results by municipality
  Bysiewicz
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  Zimmerman
  •   50–60%
More information Party, Candidate ...
Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Susan Bysiewicz 129,928 62.2
Democratic Eva Bermúdez Zimmerman 79,021 37.8
Total votes 208,949 100.0
Close

Republican primary

Governor

Republican nominee

Lost the Republican primary

Eliminated at convention

Withdrew prior to convention

Declined

Convention

The Republican statewide nominating convention was held May 11–12, 2018 at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut.

Under the rules established by the convention, any candidate not receiving at least eight percent of the vote would be eliminated in the first round of voting. In the second round of voting, candidates not receiving 15 percent of the vote would be eliminated. In all subsequent rounds of voting, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated, regardless of percentage. Voting would continue until one candidate receives 50 percent plus one of all votes cast.[88]

Results at the convention

More information Round, Mark Boughton ...
Round Mark Boughton Tim Herbst Steve Obsitnik Peter Lumaj Mark Lauretti David M. Walker Prasad Srinivasan Mike Handler
1 277 24.4% 213 18.8% 117 10.3% 167 14.7% 119 10.5% 104 9.2% 90 7.9% 46 4.1%
2 408 36.3% 319 28.4% 198 17.6% 161 14.3% 26 2.3% 13 1.2%
3 557 50.1% 454 40.9% 100 9.0%
Close

Primary endorsements

Mark Boughton[89]
Individuals
Organizations
Tim Herbst[97]
Individuals
Organizations
  • Connecticut Property Owners Alliance[104]
Steve Obsitnik
Individuals
Bob Stefanowski
Individuals
David Stemerman
Individuals
Newspapers
Mike Handler (eliminated)
Individuals
Mark Lauretti (eliminated)
State legislators
Mayors and other municipal leaders
Republican Town Committee leaders
  • Mike Barnes, chairman, New Milford RTC[119]
  • Bill Paecht, chairman, Seymour RTC[119]
  • Anthony Simonetti, chairman, Shelton RTC[119]
Peter Lumaj (eliminated)
Individuals
Prasad Srinivasan (eliminated)
State legislators
  • State Rep. Sam Belsito (R-53rd District) of Tolland
  • State Rep. Tom Delnicki (R-14th District) of South Windsor
  • State Rep. Bill Simanski (R-62nd District) of Granby
  • State Rep. Mark Tweedie (R-13th District) of Manchester
Local officials
  • Stewart "Chip" Beckett, member, Glastonbury Town Council
  • Tim Devanney, member, Town of Manchester board of directors
  • William T. Finn, former member, Glastonbury town council
  • Matthew Galligan, member, Town of Manchester board of directors
  • Carolyn Mirek, member, South Windsor town council and former mayor
  • Robert Morra, member, Town of Bolton board of selectmen
  • George P. Norman, member, Glastonbury town council
  • Donald Palmer, member, Town of Manchester ways and means committee
  • Michael T. Zelasky, chairman, Lisbon board of finance
State Central Committee
  • Michael FitzPatrick (4th senatorial District) of Glastonbury
  • Louis Spadaccini (4th senatorial District) of Manchester
Republican town committee leaders
  • John Deeb, chairman, Manchester RTC
  • Rodney Fournier, chairman, Bolton RTC
  • Ken Hjulstrom, chairman, Marlborough RTC
  • Robert Ike, chairman, Bloomfield RTC
  • Robert Lynn, chairman, Glastonbury RTC
  • Allan Spotts, chairman, Cromwell RTC
  • John Tanski, first vice chair, Glastonbury RTC
Erin Stewart (withdrew)
Individuals

Polling

More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Mark
Boughton
Tim
Herbst
Steve
Obsitnik
Bob
Stefanowski
David
Stemerman
Undecided
Tremont Public Advisors[125] August 7–9, 2018 1,151 ± 3.0% 32% 16% 11% 22% 17% 3%
Tremont Public Advisors[126] July 18–20, 2018 1,006 ± 3.0% 34% 15% 12% 20% 15% 5%
McLaughlin & Associates (R-Stefanowski)[127] July 21–23, 2018 400 ± 4.9% 18% 11% 4% 29% 17% 21%
Close
Hypothetical polling
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Mark
Boughton
Mike
Handler
Tim
Herbst
Mark
Lauretti
Peter
Lumaj
Steve
Obsitnik
Prasad
Srinivasan
Bob
Stefanowski
David
Stemerman
Erin
Stewart
Dave
Walker
Undecided
McLaughlin & Associates (R-Stefanowski)[128] May 4–6, 2018 400 ± 4.9% 7% 2% 3% 4% 2% 2% 3% 33% 2% 11% 3% 30%
Close

Results

municipality
Republican primary results by municipality. Shades of reddenote win for Stefanowski, orange for Boughton, purplefor Stemerman, green for Herbst, and teal for Obsitnik.
county
Republican primary results by county. Shades of red denote win for Stefanowski. Shades of green denote win for Boughton.
Map legend
  •   Stefanowski—30–40%
  •   Stefanowski—<30%
  •   Boughton—<30%
  •   Boughton—30–40%
More information Party, Candidate ...
Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Stefanowski 42,119 29.4
Republican Mark D. Boughton 30,505 21.3
Republican David Stemerman 26,276 18.3
Republican Tim Herbst 25,144 17.6
Republican Steve Obsitnik 19,151 13.4
Total votes 143,195 100.0
Close

Lieutenant governor

Republican nominee

Lost the Republican primary

Withdrew

  • Ann Brookes, attorney[132]
  • Peter Tesei, Greenwich first selectman[133]

Endorsements

Joe Markley
Newspapers and other media
Erin Stewart

Results

More information Party, Candidate ...
Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Joe Markley 65,702 47.6
Republican Erin Stewart 45,262 32.8
Republican Jayme Stevenson 27,139 19.7
Total votes 138,103 100.0
Close

Independent

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Withdrew

  • Micah Welintukonis, former Coventry town councilman and Army veteran[138]

Endorsements

Oz Griebel
Organizations

General election

Endorsements

Bob Stefanowski (R)
Individuals
Organizations
Newspapers
Ned Lamont (D)
Federal officials
Individuals
Statewide officials
State legislators
Party leaders
Newspapers and magazines
Mayors and other municipal leaders
2018 candidates for office
  • Amanda Webster, Democratic nominee for Connecticut representative from the 62nd District
Organizations
Labor unions
Oz Griebel (I)
Newspapers and magazines

Fundraising

More information Campaign finance reports as of January 10, 2019, Candidate ...
Campaign finance reports as of January 10, 2019
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Ned Lamont (D) $15,096,464 $15,909,903 $410
Bob Stefenowski (R) $3,226,116 $6,535,871 $209
Oz Griebel (I) $199,606 $503,305 $1,428
Source: Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission[175]
Close

Debates

More information Dates, Location ...
Dates Location Lamont Stefanowski Griebel Link
October 18, 2018 Hartford, Connecticut Participant Participant Participant Full debate[176] - C-SPAN
October 30, 2018 New Haven, Connecticut Participant Participant Participant Full debate[177] - C-SPAN
Close

Predictions

More information Source, Ranking ...
Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[178] Tossup October 26, 2018
The Washington Post[179] Tossup November 5, 2018
FiveThirtyEight[180] Likely D November 5, 2018
Rothenberg Political Report[181] Lean D November 1, 2018
Sabato's Crystal Ball[182] Lean D November 5, 2018
RealClearPolitics[183] Tossup November 4, 2018
Daily Kos[184] Lean D November 5, 2018
Fox News[185][a] Likely D November 5, 2018
Politico[186] Lean D November 5, 2018
Governing[187] Lean D November 5, 2018
Close
Notes
  1. The Fox News Midterm Power Rankings uniquely does not contain a category for Safe/Solid races

Polling

More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Ned
Lamont (D)
Bob
Stefanowski (R)
Oz
Griebel (I)
Other Undecided
Gravis Marketing[188] October 30 – November 1, 2018 681 ± 3.8% 46% 37% 9% 8%
Sacred Heart University[189] October 29–31, 2018 500 ± 4.3% 38% 40% 9% 1% 12%
Emerson College[190] October 27–29, 2018 780 ± 3.7% 46% 39% 10% 0%[a] 5%
Quinnipiac University[191] October 22–28, 2018 1,201 ± 4.0% 47% 43% 7% 0% 4%
Sacred Heart University[192] October 13–17, 2018 501 ± 4.3% 40% 36% 8% 1% 15%
Public Policy Polling (D-Change Course CT PAC)[193] October 8–9, 2018 828 43% 38% 19%
Quinnipiac University[194] October 3–8, 2018 767 ± 5.0% 47% 39% 11% 0% 3%
Sacred Heart University[195] September 12–17, 2018 501 ± 4.3% 43% 37% 4% 16%
Gravis Marketing[196] August 24–27, 2018 606 ± 4.0% 49% 40% 12%
Quinnipiac University[197] August 16–21, 2018 1,029 ± 3.9% 46% 33% 4% 2%[b] 14%
53% 37% 6%
Sacred Heart University[198] August 16–21, 2018 502 ± 4.3% 41% 37% 6% 17%
Close
Hypothetical polling

with Ned Lamont and Mark Boughton

More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Ned
Lamont (D)
Mark
Boughton (R)
Undecided
Tremont Public Advisors[199] May 3–5, 2018 550 ± 4.5% 50% 40% 11%
Close

with Ned Lamont and Erin Stewart

More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Ned
Lamont (D)
Erin
Stewart (R)
Undecided
Tremont Public Advisors[199] May 3–5, 2018 550 ± 4.5% 44% 46% 10%
Close

with Susan Bysiewicz and Erin Stewart

More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Susan
Bysiewicz (D)
Erin
Stewart (R)
Undecided
Tremont Public Advisors[199] May 3–5, 2018 550 ± 4.5% 40% 50% 10%
Close

with Susan Bysiewicz and Mark Boughton

More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Susan
Bysiewicz (D)
Mark
Boughton (R)
Undecided
Tremont Public Advisors[199] May 3–5, 2018 550 ± 4.5% 42% 47% 11%
Close

with generic Democrat and Republican

More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Generic
Democrat
Generic
Republican
Undecided
Tremont Public Advisors[199] May 3–5, 2018 550 ± 4.5% 43% 50% 7%
Close

Results

More information Party, Candidate ...
Connecticut's gubernatorial election, 2018[200]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Ned Lamont 676,649 48.10% −0.36%
Working Families Ned Lamont 17,861 1.27% −1.00%
Total Ned Lamont 694,510 49.37% -1.36%
Republican Bob Stefanowski 624,750 44.41% −1.71%
Independent Party Bob Stefanowski 25,388 1.80% −0.24%
Total Bob Stefanowski 650,138 46.21% −1.95%
Griebel-Frank for CT Party Oz Griebel 54,741 3.89% N/A
Libertarian Rod Hanscomb 6,086 0.43% N/A
Amigo Constitution Liberty Mark Greenstein 1,254 0.09% N/A
Write-in Lee Whitnum 74 0.01% N/A
Total votes 1,406,803 100.00% N/A
Democratic hold
Close

By county

Lamont won four of eight counties, while Stefenowski won the other four.

More information County, Ned Lamont Democratic ...
County Ned Lamont
Democratic
Bob Stefenowski
Republican
Other parties
Independent
Total votes cast
Fairfield 188,334 53.01% 160,641 45.22% 6,283 1.77% 355,258
Hartford 179,182 51.74% 144,218 41.64% 22,930 6.62% 346,330
Litchfield 32,125 37.61% 49,280 57.69% 4,015 4.70% 85,420
Middlesex 36,483 45.78% 38,678 48.54% 4,524 5.68% 79,685
New Haven 160,406 49.39% 153,865 47.38% 10,485 3.23% 324,756
New London 50,417 47.38% 49,364 46.39% 6,625 6.23% 106,406
Tolland 29,992 45.13% 31,882 47.98% 4,576 6.89% 66,450
Windham 17,571 41.42% 22,210 52.35% 2,643 6.23% 42,424
Total 694,510 49.37% 650,138 46.22% 62,081 4.41% 1,406,729
Close

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Lamont won three of five congressional districts, while Stefenowski won two, both of which were held by Democrats.[201]

More information District, Ned Lamont Democratic ...
District Ned Lamont
Democratic
Bob Stefenowski
Republican
Other parties
Independent
Total votes cast Representative
# % # % # %
1st 146,577 52.21% 115,799 41.25% 18,375 6.54% 280,751 John B. Larson
2nd 131,943 44.67% 145,057 49.11% 18,361 6.22% 295,361 Joe Courtney
3rd 142,570 51.64% 124,877 45.23% 8,634 3.13% 276,081 Rosa DeLauro
4th 149,528 53.50% 125,583 44.93% 4,395 1.57% 279,506 Jim Himes
5th 123,892 45.03% 138,822 50.46% 12,390 4.50% 275,104 Elizabeth Esty
Totals694,51049.37%650,13846.22%62,1554.41%1,406,803
Close

See also

Notes

  1. Rod Hanscomb (L) with 0%
  2. Rod Hanscomb (L) with 1%, other with 1%

References

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