{"id":2602898,"date":"2026-05-14T19:18:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T23:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/connecticut-gop-governor-candidate-drops-out-after-fraud-allegations-emerge\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T19:19:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T23:19:54","slug":"connecticut-gop-governor-candidate-drops-out-after-fraud-allegations-emerge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/connecticut-gop-governor-candidate-drops-out-after-fraud-allegations-emerge\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecticut GOP governor candidate drops out after fraud allegations emerge"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fconnecticut-gop-governor-candidate-drops-out-after-fraud-allegations-emerge%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2602898&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Republican Erin Stewart, a Connecticut gubernatorial candidate and former mayor of New Britain, suspended her campaign after an investigation accused her of misusing a government credit card. The report alleges that during her time in office she spent $207,076.07 without proper disclosure, using the card for expenditures investigators say were not authorized-such as personal- or nongovernment-related items and purchases at places like Amazon, the Hartford Club, Costco, and Instacart.Stewart said she takes the allegations seriously,requested relevant documents to review them,pledged accountability and restitution for any mistakes,and argued the claims have derailed the campaign\u2019s focus on Connecticut\u2019s cost and opportunity issues. New Britain\u2019s current mayor, Bobby Sanchez, called the findings a troubling pattern of abuse of public funds and said the city will pursue legal steps to recover taxpayer money.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>A <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican-party\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"514\">Republican<\/a> Connecticut gubernatorial candidate suspended her campaign Thursday after being accused of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fraud\" type=\"link\" id=\"washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fraud\">fraud<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Erin Stewart, the former mayor of New Britain, was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/resources.finalsite.net\/images\/v1778768806\/newbritainctgov\/ekfsgl2bjarcqttspatg\/PRESSSTATEMENT-REPORT-MisuseofPublicFunds20260514.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/resources.finalsite.net\/images\/v1778768806\/newbritainctgov\/ekfsgl2bjarcqttspatg\/PRESSSTATEMENT-REPORT-MisuseofPublicFunds20260514.pdf\">accused<\/a> by Crumbie Law Group, a law firm hired by her democratic successor to investigate rumors of wrongdoing, of spending $207,076.07 on a government credit card during her tenure without disclosing how the funds were used. The bombshell allegations came just days ahead of a primary she was favored to win and were cited as the reason for her campaign\u2019s suspension.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4569619\/newsom-says-redistricting-is-jim-crow-2-0\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Newsom says redistricting is \u2018Jim Crow 2.0\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4567130\/xavier-becerra-front-runner-california-governor-poll\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Xavier Becerra becomes front-runner in California gubernatorial race, edging out Steve Hilton: Poll<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4567146\/kemp-calls-special-session-new-georgia-maps-2028\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Kemp calls special session to draw new Georgia map for 2028<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>She said the allegations had \u201cunderstandably taken over this race and diverted attention away from the critical mission of saving our state from high taxes, high costs, the most expensive energy in America, and low opportunity for young people.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>\u201cI take the allegations that have been made against me very seriously. And for that reason, I am suspending my gubernatorial campaign effective immediately so that I can focus on addressing those claims,\u201d Stewart added. \u201cYesterday I requested copies of the relevant documents and I will be reviewing them carefully. I 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<p>She went on to thank her supporters and team, which she hailed as the \u201cbest political team in Connecticut.\u201d The former mayor went so far as to say she \u201ctruly\u201d believes that she would have defeated Gov. Ned Lamont (D-CT) in the deep-blue state.<\/p>\n<p>Stewart gave her \u201cfull support\u201d to state Sen. Ryan Fazio, who is facing off against Newsmax host Betsy McCaughey.<\/p>\n<p>Incumbent New Britain Mayor Bobby Sanchez called the allegations against Stewart \u201coutrageous,\u201d saying the investigation confirmed that \u201cthere was a deeply troubling pattern of abuse involving public funds, repeated violations of City policy, and conduct that represented a serious breach of the public trust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He pledged that the city would \u201cbe pursuing all appropriate legal avenues to recover taxpayer funds whenever possible, including seeking restitution from the former mayor for any improper or unauthorized expenditures identified through this investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to the investigation, among the many purchases on the government credit card was $47,582.42 spent on Amazon, $19,260.67 at the private Hartford Club, $19,222.97 at Costco, and $7,476.18 on Instacart.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe report further concludes that these were not isolated incidents, but a consistent pattern of conduct that investigators say violated City policy and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kissel-and-olivastro-corporate-activism-is-helping-undermine-confidence-in-our-elections\/\" title=\"KISSEL And OLIVASTRO: Corporate Activism Is Helping Undermine Confidence In Our Elections\">undermined public confidence<\/a> in government,\u201d Sanchez said, claiming that among the expenses on the card was spending on \u201cfamily expenses, political-related activity, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mass-migration-is-like-crowd-controls-at-the-louvre\/\" title=\"Mass Migration Is Like Crowd Controls At The Louvre\">private club memberships<\/a>, clothing, gifts, travel,\u201d and other nongovernment-related matters.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4569471\/doj-yale-medical-school-discrimination-race\/\">DOJ: YALE MEDICAL SCHOOL DISCRIMINATED BASED ON RACE IN ADMISSIONS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The expenses were made from 2016 to 2025. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >government credit card policy demands<\/a> that holders don\u2019t use them for \u201cany non-business, non-essential purpose, i.e., for any personal purchase or any other transaction that is not authorized by City Department Directors.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The cardholder agreement also warns that the \u201cemployee will be held liable for any unauthorized purchases made by the employee which appear on the city\u2019s credit card statement.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Erin Stewart suspended her CT governor bid amid fraud fraud accusations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2602899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP2849797612320709.jpg?w=400","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[9991,3728,6203],"class_list":["post-2602898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-connecticut","tag-election","tag-gop"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP2849797612320709.jpg?w=400","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602898"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2602902,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602898\/revisions\/2602902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2602899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}