Meet the candidates running in Connecticut's 2026 election

Connecticut voters will head to the polls Nov. 3 to decide who will lead the state, represent them in Washington and Hartford and make decisions in communities across Connecticut.

The 2026 ballot includes the governor's race, five U.S. House contests, all 36 state Senate seats and all 151 state House seats, along with races for the state's other constitutional offices. Details on the state House and Senate races can be found online in our searchable voter guide at www.ctinsider.com/voter-guide.

We've gathered information on the candidates, the races and the issues that will shape the election, from the contest between Gov. Ned Lamont and Republican challenger Ryan Fazio to the congressional races.

Whether you're a longtime voter, voting for the first time or simply trying to figure out what will be on your ballot, we're here to help. Explore the races below, learn about the candidates and compare their positions on the issues that matter to Connecticut.

Governor

Gov. Ned Lamont is seeking a rare third term and faces Republican state Sen. Ryan Fazio. Democrats have held the seat since Gov. Dannel P. Malloy won in 2010. A win for Lamont would not only extend that streak, but also lead to him being the longest-serving governor in the state since colonial times. Ultimately, this will be a race that boils down to two topics: national politics and affordability. National politics have ultimately seeped into state and local politics in countless ways. Meanwhile, the cost of living - whether housing, electric rates, gas or groceries - remains high. Both candidates have been making their case that can help to fix at least some of that.

Ned Lamont

(Democrat; Incumbent)

Ned Lamont, a former cable-television entrepreneur, has been Connecticut's governor since January 2019 and is seeking a third term. Before winning statewide office he held local posts in Greenwich, serving on the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Estimate and Taxation, and spent four years chairing the state council that advises Connecticut's pension investments. In office Lamont has built a reputation as a fiscal moderate, cutting taxes and paying down pension debt while backing abortion-access and some immigrant-protection laws. He led the state through the COVID-19 pandemic and has championed increased childcare support. He says he remains focused on affordability, including reducing housing and energy costs.

Ryan Fazio

(Republican)

Ryan Fazio is a Greenwich investment manager who has represented the 36th state Senate District since winning a 2021 special election. Ironically, he represents Greenwich resident Lamont at the state Capitol. Fazio studied economics at Northwestern, worked as a trader and has held positions on Greenwich's Representative Town Meeting and Energy Efficiency Committee. He is the ranking Republican on the legislature's Energy and Finance committees. Fazio has made affordability a key issue in this campaign, seeking to reduce state income-tax rates, cut energy costs and cap property taxes. He has also keyed in on housing affordability as an issue and supports local control of housing policy.

Lt. Governor

Unlike the other constitutional officers in Connecticut, voters will not be able to cast a ballot for their preferred lieutenant governor specifically. Instead, voters will cast a package vote for both governor and lieutenant governor.

Susan Bysiewicz

(Democrat; Incumbent)

Susan Bysiewicz, like her running mate Ned Lamont, is seeking her third consecutive term. A lawyer, Bysiewicz served in the 1990s as a member of the state House of Representatives and later served three terms as the secretary of the state. Her top priorities include growing good-paying jobs in the state, investing in public education and job training, according to her campaign website.

Matt Corey

(Republican)

Matt Corey is a Navy veteran and small-business owner who has operated a window cleaning service for high-rise buildings around the state and has owned McKinnon's Pub in Hartford and The One Wood Pub in East Hartford. He has run multiple times for office, including twice for U.S. Senate. He is focused on government accountability, a business friendly environment, and lowering energy costs, according to his campaign website.

Secretary of the State

Since 1995, the Secretary of the State's Office in Connecticut has been held by a Democrat. Stephanie Thomas, who is wrapping up her first term, is looking to keep that streak going. She will face Republican Peter Lumaj, with both candidates hoping to oversee the elections process in the state going forward.

Stephanie Thomas

(Democrat; Incumbent)

Stephanie Thomas has been Connecticut's secretary of the state since January 2023. She previously was a state representative in the 143rd House District and worked with nonprofits for 30 years. Her priorities in office have included overhauling the state's voting machines, implementing early voting and has plans to implement a new centralized voter registration system and election night reporting system.

Peter Lumaj

(Republican)

Peter Lumaj is a Fairfield immigration attorney and small-business owner who was born in Albania. This is his fifth run for statewide office since 2012: he was the Republican nominee for secretary of the state in 2014, ran for governor in 2018 and sought a U.S. Senate seat in 2012 and 2022.

Treasurer

Erick Russell is seeking a second term as the chief elected financial officer for Connecticut. He will face Fred Wilms, a former state representative. The last Republican in that office served in the late 1990s.

Erick Russell

(Democrat; Incumbent)

Erick Russell, who grew up in New Haven working isn his family's convenience store, was a partner in the public and private finance practice at the law firm Pullman & Comley before becoming state treasurer. In his first term he secured funding for CT Baby Bonds, a state program aimed at generational poverty that was the first of its kind in the country. A similar program is now run on the national level.

Fred Wilms

(Republican)

Fred Wilms is a Norwalk banker and former two-term Republican state representative. He says he began his career on Wall Street after earning an MBA in finance and now works as a senior vice president at a Connecticut bank. He hopes to improve the state's pension system. He also served eight years as chairman of the Norwalk Board of Estimate and Taxation.

Comptroller

The battle to oversee the state's payroll and healthcare/retirement benefits pits incumbent Democrat Sean Scanlon against former Westport First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker. The race has been won by a Democrat each year since the mid-1970s.

Sean Scanlon

(Democrat; Incumbent)

Sean Scanlon is running for his second term, having previously served eight years in the state House of Representatives. He co-chaired the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee and the Insurance Committee. He notably helped to reform the state's municipal and disability pension systems and has worked to create the state's first prescription drug discount card. He previously served as executive director of Tweed New Haven Airport.

Jennifer S. Tooker

(Republican)

Jennifer Tooker is a former first selectwoman of Westport and a business executive with roughly 25 years in the reinsurance industry. Tooker is running on a platform of accountability, transparency and discipline for the state's finances. She initially entered the 2026 race for governor, joining Ryan Fazio as one of the first two Republicans to declare, before switching to the comptroller's race.

Attorney General

Attorney General William Tong is seeking to be reelected in the race for attorney general, having held the seat since 2018. He faces John Bolton, a Westport attorney. Despite being a local race, somewhat at the heart of this contest is national politics that have seeped into the local conversation. Tong has filed dozens of lawsuits against President Donald Trump's administration in recent years, while Bolton has said the current attorney general has spent too much time focused on the president.

William Tong

(Democrat; Incumbent)

William Tong was first elected attorney general in 2018, previously serving 12 years in the state House of Representatives. He was a co-chair of both the Judiciary and Banking committees. He also spent 18 years as a litigator in New York and then in Stamford.

Tong has been most known in recent years for his office filing dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration, working to halt federal policies that could have affected people in Connecticut. That has included efforts to cut school-related funding, SNAP benefits and more. He also won a successful lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and the company's owners over its Oxycontin-related business practices that delivered billions of dollars to Connecticut and bankrupted the firm.

John Bolton

(Republican)

John Bolton is a Westport attorney who previously sat on the town's Planning and Zoning Commission. He has described himself as the "people's lawyer" during the campaign, stating he wants to fight for affordable energy, protect Connecticut consumers and hold neighboring states accountable for issues like waste coming downstream in the Connecticut River and pursue legal action when other states create tax burdens that could affect people here.

He ran unsuccessfully for the state House in the 136th District in 2024. While the name may be familiar, it's worth noting Bolton is not the well-known former national security adviser under President Donald Trump.

U.S. Congress

U.S. House District 1

The 27-town district covers much of Greater Hartford and stretches into both Litchfield and Middlesex counties. The district will have a new face representing it this coming year for the first time in well over two decades. Democrat Luke Bronin - and two others - primaried Rep. John Larson in August. Bronin won by a wide margin and now faces Republican Amy Chai and Green Party candidate Mary Sanders.

Luke Bronin

(Democrat)

Luke Bronin was Hartford's mayor from 2016 to 2024 and, before that, general counsel to Gov. Dannel Malloy. He was notably involved in the effort to protect Hartford from having to declare bankruptcy as the city leader. Bronisn has made affordability a key issue, he wants to abolish ICE while fixing the immigration system and has been critical of the Trump administration. He grew up in Westchester County, N.Y., and attended Phillips Exeter and Yale.

Amy Chai

(Republican)

Amy Chai is a Middletown physician specializing in internal medicine and addiction treatment, with a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins and a medical degree from Indiana University. She has also worked as an author, lecturer and homeschool teacher, and describes herself as a mental-health and transparency advocate. She ran as an Independent against Rosa DeLauro in 2022.

Mary L. Sanders (Green)

Sanders has turned the 1st District race into a three-way race. She is the executive director of the Spanish Speaking Center of New Britain.

U.S. House District 2

The 2nd Congressional District covers most of eastern Connecticut, stretching from the Massachusetts border to the shore and along the Rhode Island border. Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney has held the seat since winning over incumbent Rob Simmons in 2006. Republican George Austin will look to overtake Courtney now.

Joe Courtney

(Democrat; Incumbent)

Joe Courtney, of Vernon, served in the state legislature from 1987 to 1994 and has represented eastern Connecticut's 2nd District since being sworn in in 2007. Through his Armed Services Committee work he has directed federal money toward submarine construction and Electric Boat. Courtney has said he is committed to improving the state's aging infrastructure, quality and affordable education, growing the agricultural economy and affordable healthcare.

George Patrick Austin (Republican)

George Austin is a construction company owner who is running in an election for the first time. On his website, Austin says he is committed to making the state more affordable, including for housing, utilities and food. He also wants to offer more support for trade workers and to help rectify an ongoing shortage of workers through increased education and training opportunities.

U.S. House District 3

The 3rd Congressional District, held by Democrat Rosa DeLauro since 1991, is a three-way race this year that also includes Republican candidate Christopher Lancia and Independent candidate Thomas Egan. The district is mostly centered in New Haven County and stretches from Stratford to Middletown.

Rosa DeLauro

(Democrat; Incumbent)

Rosa DeLauro was born and raised in New Haven and has served the district her hometown is the center of since 1991. She is the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Appropriates in Congress and previously served as chair of the powerful group. She says she continues to stay focused on improving the cost of living for people in Connecticut, healthcare access and affordability, ensuring access to high-quality education and more.

Christopher Lancia

(Republican)

Christopher Lancia is a Coast Guard veteran and former law enforcement officer from Milford who was born and raised in Bridgeport. He works at TNI Telecom. He is running a campaign, according to his website, that puts "America First." For him, that includes strong border control, transgender girls not competing in boys' sports, lower taxes and gun ownership rights.

Thomas Egan

(Independent)

An attorney, Thomas Egan is running as the Independent Party candidate in this race. He considers himself an advocate and watchdog for honest government.

U.S. House District 4

The 4th Congressional District covers much of Fairfield County and has been held by Democrat Jim Himes since 2009. Himes will face two challengers in this election: Republican Michael Ted Goldstein and Independent candidate Benjamin Wesley.

Jim Himes

(Democrat; Incumbent)

Jim Himes won the seat in 2008, flipping a district held by Republicans for the previous 20 years. He faced Goldstein two years ago and won deciseively. He is the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Himes has made the economy and jobs, healthcare, social security and transportation among his top issues.

Michael Ted Goldstein (Republican)

Michael Goldstein is a physician and attorney making his second consecutive run at Himes, having lost the 2024 general election by about 24 points. He won the Republican endorsement and then the August primary over Daniel Miressi. He has said political polarization and a rise in antisemitism pushed him to run.

Benjamin Wesley

(Independent)

Benjamin Wesley enters a three-way race wanting to prioritize affordable housing and a ceasefire in Gaza and a plan for rebuilding. He also wants to introduce legislation to encourage diversification of military contractors into civilian operations.

U.S. House District 5

The 5th Congressional District stretches from the New York-Massachusetts border in the northwestern part of the state down to Meriden. It covers 40 communities in total, touching Litchfield, Fairfield, Hartford and New Haven counties. Democrat Jahana Hayes has represented the district since 2019 and faces Republican Chris Shea this year.

Jahana Hayes

(Democrat; Incumbent)

Jahana Hayes taught high school history before being named National Teacher of the Year and winning the 5th District seat in 2018, becoming the first Black woman to represent Connecticut in Congress. Hayes is the ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture in the House and has made food security a key issue of hers. She has also put an emphasis on gun violence prevention, healthcare access and affordability and reproductive rights.

Chris Shea

(Republican)

Chris Shea spent more than 30 years in the Navy, retiring as a SEAL. He now works as a North Haven firefighter and founded Hero to Hero, a nonprofit that steers veterans into first-responder careers. He entered the 5th District race in January as a self-described political outsider and took the Republican endorsement, also winning a primary in August.

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