Gov. Lamont in ‘strong position for reelection’

Gov. Ned Lamont hasn’t yet announced if he plans to run for reelection next year, but if he does, he’s in a good position to win, according to one well-known political prognosticating outlet.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics has rated Connecticut’s next gubernatorial contest as “likely Democrat,” writing that “though he’s taking his time setting up his campaign, Lamont seems to be in a surprisingly strong position for reelection.”

Democrats have won the last three governor’s races in Connecticut, but by slim margins. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy won in 2010 by less than a percentage point and was reelected in 2014 by about 3 percentage points, similar to Lamont’s margin of victory in 2018.

But Lamont’s approval ratings have soared during the pandemic, with a Sacred Heart University poll released last week showing nearly 71% of respondents approved of his handling of COVID-19 and that his overall approval rating stood at 55.9%, almost double his 28.1% approval rating in December 2019 when his administration was still making its push for electronic highway tolls, a proposal that was deeply unpopular with many voters and ultimately rejected by the legislature.

Democrats have also made gains in the General Assembly with Lamont at the top of the ticket, compared to losses under Malloy.

“During Malloy’s time leading the state, his party’s standing in the legislature eroded: after 2016, for the final stretch of his tenure, the state Senate was tied and Democrats had only a slim majority in the state House,” J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, wrote. “By contrast, in 2020, voters strengthened Lamont’s hand by giving him a supermajority in the state Senate while expanding the Democratic edge in the state House.”

With the next gubernatorial election still 20 months away no Republicans have stepped forward so far to announce they intend to run. Names that have been floated as possible candidates include New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, former House Minority Leader Themis Klarides and Bob Stefanowski, who Lamont defeated in 2018.