HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | AUGUST 24, 2026 9
Politics & Policy
NMLS ID: 510148
Businesses bank on us
for just the right fit.
nwcommunitybank.com
Jeffrey Brighenti
Avon Plumbing & Heating
Avon, CT
Northwest Community Bank
Board Member
artnett
Twenty2 Wallpaper
Textiles
Naugatuck, CT
Republican gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Ryan Fazio discusses his campaign during an interview at the Hartford Business Journal's offices. HBJ Photo | Steve Laschever
Decision 2026
Fazio puts affordability at center of bid
to reclaim governor's office for GOP
lenge. Connecticut has not elected a
Republican governor since M. Jodi
Rell won reelection in 2006, and Fazio
is challenging Lamont, a relatively
popular and well-funded incumbent
who has overseen years of budget
By David Krechevsky
davidk@hartfordbusiness.com
A
t 36, Sen. Ryan Fazio
(R-Greenwich) is asking
Connecticut voters to
do something they haven't done
in nearly two decades: elect a
Republican governor.
If successful, he would also
become the youngest governor
in state history.
But Fazio is basing his
campaign less on generational
change than on a straightforward
economic argument: Connecticut
has become too expensive to
live, work and do business in.
"People understand that this
state is unaffordable," Fazio said
during a recent interview with the
Hartford Business Journal. "After
eight years, (Gov. Ned Lamont)
hasn't fixed the problems and posi-
tive change is more than welcome."
This election, though, presents
Republicans with a daunting chal-
AT A GLANCE
Ryan Fazio
Candidate for governor
State of Connecticut
Education: Bachelor's
degree in economics,
Northwestern University
Age: 36
Continued on next page
