Making a final push for votes, Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Bob Stefanowski faced off in the final debate of the gubernatorial campaign on 99.1PLR on Monday morning.
“This is not a state that embraces Donald Trump values,” Lamont said. “They do not want to have a governor with an A rating from the NRA. They do not want to have a governor like Bob Stefanowski or Donald Trump even who are talking about rolling back Obamacare, rolling back care for people with pre-existing conditions.”
“People want to vote for change,” said Stefanowski. “They know that Ned Lamont is going to increase your taxes. He just said it in the debate. People want lower taxes. They don’t want any more Dan Malloy. I’m the agent of change, and that’s why the numbers are moving in our favor right now.”
Hosted by morning radio talk show hosts Chaz & AJ, the fast-paced debate lasted about 30 minutes. Both candidates were given a bell to call out falsities from their opponent. The two debated issues such as tolls, pensions and how they would generate revenue for a state in a financial crisis.
“I drove by the Department of Transportation headquarters the other day,” Stefanowski said. “It’s a palace. The problem is we’re putting too much money into overhead. We need to do it to fix our roads and bridges. There’s too many departments. There’s too many agencies. We’re going to take a hatchet.”
“Electronic sports betting,” Lamont said. “I think that’s a business that’s going to be coming around the country, here to the state, I would tax that. Recreational marijuana, why let the black market take it over. I’d regulate it and tax it.”
Unaffiliated candidate, Oz Griebel, who significantly trails his opponents in the polls, did not participate in Monday morning’s debate, however, he was in Middletown campaigning for last minute votes.
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“My message to everyone is, don't try to figure out what your neighbor is going to do, don't try to figure out what someone 100 miles away is going to do, vote for the best ticket,” Griebel said. “If everybody who tells us that we have the best ticket votes for us, we'll win with 70 percent of the vote.”
Polls open Tuesday at 6 a.m.
