The race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination has turned into an intra-party brawl in which the record of Gov. Ned Lamont, the Democrat seeking a third term, is getting less attention than the New Britain mayoral tenure of Erin Stewart, the favorite to win the GOP convention endorsement.

Stewart on Thursday proclaimed herself a victim of Republican collaborators, Democratic puppeteers and a two-party “cabal” in a scathing video posted hours after the Connecticut Mirror published a story about her effort to seek a partial pension benefit that is not authorized by the city’s charter or ordinances.

“I need to update you on what really happening. It’s a witch hunt against me,” Stewart said. “The corrupt Democrat machine that has run our state into the ground is coming after me, and they’re coming after me hard.”

In a four-minute video posted on Facebook, Stewart did not address why she believed she could be eligible for a deferred partial $39,366 annual pension after 12 years as mayor and two on the school board. The city charter provides a pension to elected officials after 20 years in office.

Nor did she address a related issue: her signing an agreement promising a similar partial pension for the former elected tax collector, Cheryl Blogoslawski, who served for 16 years before a charter revision made the job a civil-service post in the last two years of Stewart’s tenure as mayor.

In fact, she did not mention the pension issue at all. Stewart instead cast the State Police investigation of her administration and an internal investigation by a law firm — each initiated by her Democratic successor, Bobby Sanchez — as badges of honor, evidence that she is seen by Democrats as the strongest candidate.

“And here’s the worst part: Some of the weak Republicans in Hartford and in this race are cheering on the dirty tricks from the Democrats,” Stewart said. “That’s exactly why our party keeps losing. Weak collaborators in Hartford are content with the crumbs the Democrats keep throwing at them.”

“Let’s face it. They’re all together under that Capitol dome in Hartford. It’s one big cabal,” she said.

Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, the other Republican candidate who has drawn sufficient convention delegate commitments to qualify for a primary in August, criticized Stewart in a press release.

“Stewart spent her entire career in City Hall and yet either doesn’t understand the law or thinks it doesn’t apply to her,” Fazio said in the release. “She raised taxes on residents, then turned around and used her office to enrich herself and her political allies. … This is either corruption or total incompetence, and neither is acceptable.”

In an interview, Fazio said Stewart’s record should be vetted now, not in a general-election campaign against a governor who can afford nearly unlimited advertising.

“When there are so many deeply concerning questions of corruption or mismanagement, at best, in city hall on the former mayor’s watch, Republican primary voters have a great interest in having those questions answered in a very straightforward and substantive manner, rather than brushed off,” Fazio said.

Stewart and Fazio are evenly matched in financial resources: Each has qualified for public financing, which would provide each $3.75 million for a primary and $18 million to the winner to wage a general election. A third Republican, Betsy McCaughey, has not qualified for financing.

Fazio said the issue for Stewart is her viability in a general election.

“Currently, we as Republicans have an opportunity to figure out who can wage a strong general election campaign and who as a candidate would be susceptible to millions of dollars of attacks from the Democrats, which could not only bring down their campaign but also bring down the campaigns of Republican state Senate and state representative candidates as well,” Fazio said.

On April 15, Sanchez announced he had fired Blogoslawski, the revenue collector and former elected tax collector for lax handling of cash and backdating tax payments, including her own, to avoid interest penalties. He also released a memo from the Crumbie Law Group detailing issues in the tax office.

Fazio said the new pension disclosures are “part of a clear pattern of self-dealing, disregard for taxpayers and insider favoritism.”

Ben Proto, the Republican state chairman, said he was alarmed by the tone of the campaigns and their supporters since April 15 — even before the angry exchanges on Thursday.

“I brought that up at my state central committee meeting Tuesday night. You can support whoever you want — the operative word being support. Go support your candidate,” Proto said. “The reality of the situation is that we’re doing the Democrats’ job for them.”

Proto contrasted the GOP habit of infighting with the Democratic challenges to Lamont by Rep. Josh Elliott of Hamden and to Congressman John B. Larson by former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. With occasional exceptions, he said, the challengers are advocating the need for change and policy differences.

Stewart had a bumpy news cycle after the Blogoslawski firing and release of the Crumbie memo. 

In an interview with WTNH, News 8, Stewart made a startling claim: She frequently rejected bribe attempts never reported to authorities while she was the city’s mayor. That failure to would be a crime under state law.

Stewart walked back the claim in a subsequent interview with Connecticut Mirror.

Her was-and-wasn’t-offered-bribes episode, combined with her comments about seeking a pension, have been dizzying to watch, said Liz Kurantowicz, a Republican communications consultant uninvolved in the 2026 gubernatorial race.

“My take is Erin is running a better campaign against herself than Ned Lamont or Ryan Fazio could ever dream of,” Kurantowicz said.

Stewart said it all is gaining her support.