Hartford, Ct. – Just two days after Republicans in Congress passed a disastrous tax plan that will result in sharply higher taxes for middle-class Connecticut families, higher health care premiums, and declining home values, just to give a major handout to the top 1 percent, Connecticut’s GOP gubernatorial candidates are participating in a secret, closed-door “debate” exclusively open to high-dollar Republican donors. Since the GOP candidates refuse to make their positions public, Democrats are calling on them to answer the following five questions for the wealthy donors in the audience.

1. Do you support the GOP tax bill that will give massive handouts to the wealthy GOP donors attending the debate, but will lead to sharply higher taxes for middle-class Connecticut families?
2. Do you agree with J.R. Romano — for whom you are fundraising — that Republicans hosting a white supremacist to speak and that a white supremacist’s attack on a defenseless woman was “fake news”?
3. Do you stand with Romano’s comments that Black Lives Matter activists protesting for social justice are comparable to murderous neo-Nazis?
4. Will you stand with law-abiding Connecticut immigrants — many of whom are parents of U.S. citizens — targeted by Donald Trump for deportation?
5. If Republicans fail to extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program, how will you make sure vulnerable Connecticut kids continue to receive the health coverage they need?

“It’s sad, but not surprising, that the Connecticut Republicans who want to be governor are too afraid to make their positions on issues clear to the public and are instead taking their message to wealthy donors. If elected, they would be the ones forced to deal with the fallout from the GOP tax scam, including higher taxes for middle class residents and decreased property values, yet they have flatly refused to speak out against this dangerous bill for Connecticut residents. Maybe they will make their positions clear to a small group of Republican donors, the only people who would truly benefit from these GOP policies. We know that our Democratic candidates will spend each day in office fighting for middle class families, but the same cannot be said for the Connecticut Republicans who cower at the thought of crossing Donald Trump and the national Republicans.” – Connecticut Democratic Party Executive Director Michael Mandell