Erin Stewart, viewed by many Republicans in Connecticut as the favorite to lead their ticket in the election this November, ended her bid for governor on Thursday as her campaign was engulfed by accusations of fraudulent spending when she was mayor of New Britain, Conn.<\/p>\n
Ms. Stewart, 39, immediately endorsed her chief rival, Ryan Fazio, a state senator from Greenwich, sending shock waves through the state party two days before it was scheduled to nominate a would-be challenger to Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat who is seeking a third term.<\/p>\n
A Republican has not won a statewide election in Connecticut in 20 years.<\/p>\n
Ms. Stewart withdrew from the race a little more than an hour after the city of New Britain, which is about 10 miles southwest of Hartford, released the results of an investigation into Ms. Stewart\u2019s use of a city credit card while she was mayor, from 2013 to 2025.<\/p>\n
A law firm hired by the city found that Ms. Stewart had racked up $123,018 in expenses from June 2016 to November 2025 that had no supporting documentation to justify them.<\/p>\n
The items included clothing, gifts for her husband, diapers, groceries and a membership in a members-only social club in Hartford. The goods were delivered to her home, ordered from Amazon, Instacart, Costco and other retailers, according to investigators, who combed through Ms. Stewart\u2019s social media photos for images of items that she had purchased.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe findings of this investigation point not to isolated lapses in judgment, but to a pattern of behavior that violated public trust and the standards expected of an elected official entrusted with taxpayer funds for nearly a decade,\u201d said the report, prepared by the Crumbie Law Group in Hartford.<\/p>\n
Bobby Sanchez, a Democrat who is New Britain\u2019s current mayor, said in a statement on Thursday that the city was referring the results of the investigation to the offices of the chief state\u2019s attorney and the U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe findings outlined in this investigation are outrageous,\u201d Mr. Sanchez said.<\/p>\n
The Connecticut State Police confirmed on Thursday that they had opened an investigation into the matter after the state\u2019s Division of Criminal Justice received a complaint.<\/p>\n
In a statement posted on social media<\/a> on Thursday, Ms. Stewart, whose father, Timothy Stewart, was New Britain\u2019s mayor from 2003 to 2011, said she was stepping back from public life.<\/p>\n \u201cI take the allegations that have been made against me very seriously,\u201d she said. \u201cI will take accountability for any mistakes, and I intend to make full and complete restitution to the City of New Britain \u2014 my home \u2014 for anything that I owe.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms. Stewart\u2019s campaign began to unravel earlier in the week after The Hartford Courant reported<\/a> on her expenditures, which she initially suggested were legitimate and were being investigated for political reasons.<\/p>\n