From the opening statements, Gov. Ned Lamont and Republican challenger Ryan Fazio came out swinging in their first debate Thursday night as they clashed on everything from taxes and electric rates to President Donald Trump’s policies.

They disagreed on solutions to difficult problems as Lamont, a two-term Democrat, is seeking his third term against the 36-year-old Greenwich resident who has served for five years in the state Senate.

In his closing statement, Fazio said that Lamont was serving in politics when he was born in 1990. Now 72, Lamont served on the Greenwich board of selectmen in the 1980s and lost in a three-way state Senate race in 1990 for the seat that Fazio won 31 years later.

“He’s had his chance,” Fazio said. “He’s been in politics for decades.”

But Lamont returned to his theme of listing his accomplishments as governor while candidates make promises that they cannot keep.

“Ryan, we have done the biggest income tax cut,” Lamont said. “Talk is cheap.”

At times, Lamont was on the defensive as Fazio continued delivering criticisms. But Lamont countered that the state has made progress when he was asked if his third term would be different from his first eight years.

“Only one guy has cut the income tax,” Lamont said, referring to himself. “Connecticut is one of the very few states that reduced electric rates.”

After Lamont painted a positive picture of progress, Fazio countered that Lamont “is living in an entirely different state” than the average, working-class Connecticut resident.

“He promised to hold the line on taxes,” Fazio said, adding that he calculated the combined overall tax increase under Lamont over 8 years as $3 billion. “As governor, I’ll cut your taxes by thousands of dollars.”

Less than 15 minutes after the televised debate ended, Lamont sent an email to his supporters that he said was being sent “on my ride home” from the debate studio in Rocky Hill.

“During the debate, we covered my plan to roll out universal Pre-K and lower your electric bills,” Lamont said. “I called out Donald Trump’s disastrous efforts to raise your healthcare premiums, and ICE’s attempt to deport our friends and neighbors. A good debate requires honesty – so I talked frankly about my opponent’s record. I pressed him about why he was part of an extreme minority who opposed many commonsense bills, like AI guardrails and social media protections for kids. I made sure voters knew that he stood in the way when we shielded Connecticut residents from Trump’s healthcare premium spikes.”

Just before the debate started, Fazio sent out his own message.

“For most of this campaign, Lamont has found that hiding from his record is the best thing for his campaign,” Fazio said. “Tonight, that ends.”

Electric rates

Fazio’s signature issue in the campaign has been the high cost of electricity, and he is recognized as one of the legislature’s leading authorities on the issue as the ranking senator on the energy and technology committee.

In a two-sided campaign mailer that arrived in homes this week with a black-and-white picture of Lamont looking glum, Fazio criticized Lamont again on electricity.

“We can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results,” Fazio said during the debate. “Gov. Lamont gave Eversource a sweetheart deal in 2024” as the company sold its water utility, the Aquarion Water Company, for $2.4 billion to a newly formed, not-for-profit organization.

Lamont pushed back, saying that recent electric rate cuts means that Connecticut no longer has the third highest electricity charges in the country and is not even the highest in New England. While rates can fluctuate with decisions by utility regulators, an independent agency in the U.S. Department of Energy said that Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire all had higher average electric rates for residential customers in July than Connecticut.

“We are holding Eversource accountable,” Lamont said during the televised debate on WFSB, Channel 3.

“I think the viewers out there will be very surprised that Governor Lamont is holding Eversource accountable,” Fazio responded.

“There’s no truth to this at all,” Lamont said. “We gave Eversource five different decisions under [former utility regulation chairwoman] Marissa Gillett, and they sued us five different times.”

Scandals

When asked about scandals and corruption during his eight years in office, Lamont said he has made sure that high-profile state employees were moved out of positions of power.

“We hold people accountable,” Lamont said. “I have zero tolerance for any malfeasance out there.”

Fazio criticized Lamont over the case of Terrence Cheng, the much-criticized former chancellor of the public higher education system who is paid more than $440,000 per year. He has been blasted by Republicans since it was revealed that he and other educators had spent excessively on taxpayer-funded purchasing cards for expensive meals, dry cleaning, alcohol, room service, car washes, and limousine rides, despite having access to a state vehicle. While Cheng charged 56 meals that exceeded the state’s $50-per-person limit, the chancellor retains discretion to go beyond the limit.

“Gov. Lamont called it small ball. Why would you call it small ball?” Fazio asked as he turned to Lamont. “Terrence Cheng was given a no-show job for the following two years. … That happened on Gov. Lamont’s watch. The buck stops somewhere.”

Fazio then mentioned Kosta Diamantis, the former deputy state budget director and former Democratic state legislator who fled to Greece without being detected by the FBI after being convicted of 21 felony counts in a high-profile bribery and extortion scandal.

“Kosta Diamantis – I didn’t hire him, but I fired him,” Lamont said.

Trump’s foreign policy

Lamont’s campaign has criticized Fazio for supporting Republican President Donald J. Trump on some issues and remaining silent on others.

In a frequently-shown television commercial, Fazio is seen answering host Dennis House when asked to assess Trump’s performance.

“I think he’s doing a good job,” Fazio answers in a message that is repeated four times during the 30-second commercial.

During the debate, Fazio said, “I oppose the war in Iran. I’ve said it repeatedly. … The issue here is this election is about Connecticut.”

Fazio pivoted and asked Lamont why he does not support a rollback of gasoline and diesel taxes due to the recent sky-high prices at the pump.

“It would leave a hole in the budget,” Lamont responded. “By the way, you can’t mumble when it comes to Donald Trump.”

Trump’s war has raised gasoline prices by $1.75 per gallon, and Fazio’s idea to cut the tax by 25 cents would not make a huge difference, Lamont said. But Fazio continued that the gasoline tax could be cut by 25 cents per gallon by eliminating the state tax that Lamont supported four years ago.

“Politicians have to look beyond the next election,” Lamont said. “You want a cut in the gas tax? Tell me how we’re going to pay for it.”

Agreement on parks

In a rare area of brief agreement, both Fazio and Lamont said they enjoy the state’s parks as hidden gems within Connecticut. Fazio has an affinity for Waveny Park in New Canaan because that is where he was engaged, while Lamont enjoys regular walks in Elizabeth Park near the governor’s residence in Hartford.

“I find it very good therapy and cheaper than a psychologist,” Lamont said.

Both candidates agreed that they would like to invite former President Abraham Lincoln if they had a chance to have dinner.

Affordability

Throughout the one-hour debate, the candidates sparred over the high cost of living.

“You don’t need a spreadsheet to know that Governor Lamont has raised taxes,” Fazio said, adding that he would cut taxes. “I’m not promising the moon and the stars.”

“It’s fantasyland,” Lamont countered. “You know what, the Republicans in the state Senate did not come up with a budget. … By the way, Ryan, there is no sales tax on food. Period.”

But Fazio noted that Lamont and the Democratic-controlled state legislature increased taxes in 2019 on prepared meals, such as rotisserie chickens that are sold at supermarkets.

“That’s food,” Fazio said.

“There’s no tax on groceries,” Lamont countered.

Debates

While Fazio wanted at least six debates, Lamont told The Courant that he thought that two was sufficient because that was the same number as in his 2022 race against Republican Bob Stefanowski of Madison. The second debate is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Oct. 27 from the Mohegan Sun casino that will be broadcast live on WTNH, Channel 8.

The debates, Fazio said, are too late in the campaign because they are taking place after early voting started on Oct. 19. As of Wednesday, more than 140,000 people had already voted, including nearly 113,000 casting early votes at town halls and nearly 28,000 through absentee ballots that had already been returned to the towns. State officials stressed that the unofficial totals would increase as the towns report on different schedules.

Lamont also noted there have been multiple forums, such as a CBIA event where the candidates appeared separately in front of a live audience at a Hartford hotel ballroom.

“This was one of the forums, so you get a chance to look at the two candidates, one after the other, and make your call,” Lamont said after the CBIA event.

Thursday night’s debate was held at the Channel 3 studios in Rocky Hill with WFSB anchor Erin Connolly serving as moderator with questions posed by CT Insider’s Dan Haar and WFSB chief political reporter Susan Raff.

Polls

The candidates have jousted about the polls that have showed various margins. The latest Quinnipiac University poll showed Lamont ahead by 20 points, which was higher than an earlier Q poll that showed Lamont by 17 percentage points and another survey by Sacred Heart University that placed Lamont ahead by 14 points. A separate poll by Morning Consult rated Lamont as the ninth most popular governor in the country.

“Look, I’m not a big polling guy, but I think the Quinnipiac poll is pretty close,” Lamont said of the 17-point advantage.

Even after those polls were released, Fazio still insisted that the race is tight.

“All of our internal polling — we’ve now polled several times … says it’s a single-digit race,” Fazio said when asked by The Courant.

While some voters still do not know much about Fazio, Lamont has sky-high name recognition after five statewide campaigns that include his U.S. Senate campaign in 2006 and races for governor in 2010, 2018, 2022, and 2026. Lamont spent more than $60 million of his own money in his previous races, and he has turned down public financing in his gubernatorial runs. He spent $25.7 million in his re-election race in 2022 and is currently spending millions more this year as Fazio has qualified for $18 million in public funds that has allowed him to wage a widespread campaign of multiple television commercials..

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