Hartford, Ct. – The House of Representatives yesterday voted to raise taxes on 305,000 Connecticut families earning less than $197,000 per year while giving massive handouts to the very wealthy — including new tax breaks to owners of private jets. The Senate bill, which slashes Medicare by $319 million in Connecticut in 2018 and will leave 143,000 Connecticut residents without health insurance by 2025, also raises taxes on middle-class Connecticut families.

While Democrats across Connecticut — including those running for governor or exploring a run for statewide office — have raised their voices in unified opposition to this regressive redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy, Connecticut GOP candidates have been utterly silent, other than Tim Herbst, who supports the legislation.

It raises the question, why can’t any of the the dozen or so GOP candidates be bothered to take a moment and oppose a plan that will hurt the people they hope to represent? Because each and every Republican candidate is more interested in appealing to the extreme Donald Trump wing of the Republican Party than standing up for middle class families.

“This is a Connecticut issue,” said Connecticut Democratic Party Executive Director Michael Mandell. “Big tax increase for Connecticut families while millionaires and billionaires get massive handouts is a Connecticut issue. It’s telling that nearly every Republican running for governor is cowering and refusing to comment on a bill pushed by their party that hurts the majority of people in the state they hope to lead. We need a Democratic governor who will stand up to the backwards policies of Donald Trump and Washington Republicans.”