Good morning and welcome back to the Tip Sheet, a weekly newsletter from Tom Dudchik’s Capitol Report written by Mike Cerulli.

Which side are you on?

If you’re a Republican, that’s the question you’ve been fielding in the past week, ever since State Sen. Ryan Fazio officially announced his candidacy for governor.

As it stands today, Fazio is one of two declared Republicans along with Westport’s Jen Tooker. New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart is still technically exploring a run, but there is no mistaking the direction that effort is headed.

So, which side are Connecticut’s key Republicans on?

Let’s dive in…

Pick a side: Stewart or Fazio

It’s a time for choosing inside the Connecticut contingent of the party whose recent history is defined by the man who spoke those words more than six decades ago.

When Ronald Reagan urged voters to choose a side with his breakthrough speech during the 1964 presidential election, he was introducing many of them to a new version of American conservatism – the one embodied by the party’s candidate in that election, Barry Goldwater.

Today, the Republican Party stands amidst a decade-long metamorphosis. Many of the ideological linchpins hammered into place by Goldwater and Reagan have been shed in favor of the more nationalist and populist doctrines of President Donald Trump.

In a little more than a year, those debates about the future of the Republican Party could be on the ballot in Connecticut.

In the birthplace of a uniquely New England offshoot of Reagan conservatism, two Republican candidates stand before their party’s voters vying to lead the GOP ticket.

Last week, Fazio was in the spotlight pitching his vision.

His campaign launch came in the form of a minute-and-a-half long video. 

The points Fazio hit on in the video were instantly familiar to anyone who has paid attention to the revitalized campaign of opposition his dwindling State Senate caucus has waged ever since his friend Steve Harding took the reins as minority leader.

Rising consumer prices, crime, and, yes, Fazio’s signature issue of energy costs all played central roles in the campaign launch video.

All told, Fazio’s video hit all the notes of a standard campaign launch: slow-motion tracking shots, some telegenic kids, a barn with a big American flag, and so on…

In the hours and days following Fazio’s announcement, multiple Connecticut Republicans chose their side.

State Sen. Rob Sampson, one of the key behind-the-scenes players in the effort to boost Fazio, was quick to the draw.

State Rep. Joe Canino, the legislature’s youngest Republican, followed close behind.

On Friday morning, State Rep. Joe Polletta, another rising Republican, endorsed Fazio during a taping of “Capitol Report.”

The next day, State Sen. Eric Berthel went public with his support, too.

The parade of Fazio endorsements still hasn’t equaled the wall of support that Erin Stewart has built over the course of her exploratory effort, but it signals an early momentum that will likely grow.

Most, if not all, of Fazio’s Republican colleagues in the State Senate are expected to be in his camp.

The Senate Republicans’ leader hasn’t made an endorsement yet. Neither has State Rep. Vincent Candelora, Harding’s counterpart in the House, but neither man is expected to stay neutral.

In the same “Capitol Report” episode that Polletta made his support official, the Republican operative Liz Kurantowicz noted a stark fact of GOP politics in the year 2025.

Local endorsements are great, especially at a convention. But in a primary election, there’s one endorsement that could likely outweigh them all.

That endorsement is, of course, Donald Trump’s.

“Connecticut’s Republican primary voters are no different than primary voters in other states,” Kurantowicz said. “They are avid supporters of Donald Trump.”

Stewart has made no secret about her desire to nab the Trump seal of approval.

Fazio has said he’d welcome the opportunity to campaign with the president and gave identically-worded answers to News 8 and the Connecticut Mirror when asked the all-important “Trump question.”

“I voted for the president, and I have great respect for his public service and his patriotism,” Fazio said. Twice.

We’ll be back next week with another edition of the Tip Sheet.