ELECTIONS ARE COMING: GOP CANDIDATE TO RUN AGAINST LAMONT
https://www.wsj.com/articles/making-connecticut-grow-again-1534374994
Making Connecticut Grow AgainThe GOP nominates a businessman reformer to rescue failing Hartford.
Democrats again showed their eagerness to send a message against President Trump in Tuesday’s primaries, which threatens GOP control of statehouses. But perhaps the most intriguing result came in Connecticut, where businessman Bob Stefanowski won the GOP nomination for Governor on a bold reform platform to save the sinking state after years of failed public-union governance.
In Wisconsin, Democrats nominated state schools Superintendent Tony Evers to take on GOP Gov. Scott Walker. Unions are hoping to deny Mr. Walker a third term and take the statehouse so they can overturn his famous collective-bargaining reforms. Early polls give Mr. Evers a small lead, but Mr. Walker’s reforms have reduced property taxes, and unemployment is 2.9%.
Mr. Trump narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton in the state, but he remains a polarizing force. This was evident by state Sen. Leah Vukmir’s seven-point victory over former Marine Kevin Nicholson in the Senate primary. Mr. Nicholson tied himself to the President, but Ms. Vukmir cleaned up in the Milwaukee and Madison suburbs with endorsements from Gov. Walker and Paul Ryan. Ms. Vukmir is a long shot against Sen. Tammy Baldwin, but Senate Republicans shouldn’t leave her hanging like they did Senator Ron Johnson in 2016 if polls tighten.
Republicans are angling to pick up the governorship in Minnesota, which has been trending right in recent elections. Mr. Trump lost the state by fewer than 50,000 votes, and Republicans control the state House. Tim Pawlenty stood a good shot. He was a rare blue-state GOP Governor to survive the Democratic wave in 2006 and compiled a strong economic record during eight years in office.
But former state Rep. Jeff Johnson tied himself to the President and blasted Mr. Pawlenty for having worked as a bank lobbyist after running for President in 2012. Mr. Johnson won by nearly nine points.
Republican turnout was underwhelming with 260,000 fewer votes cast in the GOP primary for Governor than for Democrats. In Hennepin County west of Minneapolis, 51,000 Republicans voted compared to 191,000 Democrats. Mr. Johnson will face Democratic Rep. Tim Walz, but to win he’ll have to make a case that eight years of Democratic control have slowed Minnesota’s economic progress.
The GOP’s best chance of a statehouse pick-up this year is Connecticut, where Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy’s tax and spending increases have punished the economy. Personal income grew by a mere 1.5% last year compared to 2.4% in Rhode Island and 3.3% in Massachusetts. Connecticut’s labor force has shrunk by 26,500 since January 2017.
Spending on state worker benefits has increased by about a third since 2012, and 35% of revenues go to debt service and retirement obligations. The state faces a $2.1 billion budget shortfall amid tepid revenue growth.
Mr. Stefanowski rose to the top of a crowded GOP field with a supply-side platform drafted with the advice of economist Art Laffer that calls for abolishing the estate and gift taxes immediately, phasing out the corporate tax in two years and the income tax over eight. He also wants term limits and the right to citizen referendums.
These goals are bold, to the say least, but the state needs radical surgery. Corporate tax revenues account for less than 5% of the state budget, and estate taxes make up only about 1% even as they drive retirees to Florida. Both levies could be eliminated by trimming spending. But cutting the income tax will require taking on the public unions. Mr. Malloy locked in collective-bargaining agreements through 2027, and teacher pension payments are expected to nearly quadruple over the next decade.
Democrats have a small majority in the state House, and the Senate is evenly divided. Reining in pensions and renegotiating labor agreements will require support from moderate Democrats from working-class communities like those who helped Democrat Gina Raimondo reform pensions in Rhode Island.
Before it adopted an income tax in 1991, Connecticut was one of the country’s fastest growing states. But tax rates have climbed relentlessly ever since and will continue to rise if progressive Democrat and wealthy businessman Ned Lamont is elected Governor. How else does he intend to pay for his plans to increase school and public works spending?
Mr. Stefanowski faces an uphill battle in what looks like a Democratic year, but even liberals should want to make Connecticut grow again.
Comments are closed.
