The Republican candidates for governor tackled topics from the death penalty to taxes at the latest GOP debate Wednesday night.
NBC Connecticut political reporter Max Reiss moderated tonight’s event.
There were some fireworks as the nine men on stage fought to separate themselves on issues that could divide some Republicans.
Former First Selectman Tim Herbst made waves when he pledged to respect the convention nominating process, saying he would not seek to be on the ballot in August if delegates don’t pick him.
"I will respect the convention process. I will respect the nominee of the party."
Attorney Peter Lumaj, who immigrated to the U.S. from Albania, insisted he would be the party’s nominee, and opted to criticize Herbst for budget decisions he made while running Trumbull.
"He extended contracts with his own buddies who are in local buddies the exact same way that Malloy did it with his own cronies in the unions,” Lumaj said.
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Herbst fired back, bringing up Lumaj’s unsubstantiated clim that Presidet Donald Trump considered him to be the US Ambassador to his home country.
"You would be better served being the ambassador to Albania than being the governor of the State of Connecticut,” Herbst said.
An issue that could prove to be a wedge among voters is the death penalty. All but two candidates said they want to reinstate capital punishment, while Stamford Financial Officer Mike Handler and Glastonbury Representative Prasad Srinivasan said the repeal is better policy.
"Let's not go back. Let's be what the rest of the civilized society does. Put them behind bars for the rest of their life, but let's not have the death penalty,” Srinivasan said.
New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart was left out of the debate due to fundraising requirements. She protested outside and told NBC Connecticut she dserved a spot, even though a year ago she signed off on the debate participation rules.
"I think the Republicans are going to need a voice like mine to be successful this November,” Stewart said.
Republican delegates will decide who they want to represent them in the August primary in just six weeks. Some candidates are working to be on the ballot without internal GOP support, meaning it could be a very crowded field, and hard to stand out.
Some outsiders, like David Walker, David Stemerman and Michael Handler, said they did not like the Republican proposed budget from last year that underfunded pensions. Those candidates said they would have vetoed them, which shows that group to be independent thinkers not totally in line with those in the state Capitol.
