Ned Lamont | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| 89thGovernor of Connecticut | |
| Assumed office January 9, 2019 | |
| Lieutenant | Susan Bysiewicz |
| Preceded by | Dannel Malloy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Miner Lamont Jr. (1954-01-03)January 3, 1954 (age 71) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | Governor's Residence |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Yale University (MBA) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Office website Campaign website |
Edward Miner Lamont Jr.[1] (/ləˈmɒnt/lə-MONT;[2] born January 3, 1954) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 89thgovernor of Connecticut.[3][4] A member of theDemocratic Party, he served from 1987 to 1989 as aGreenwichselectman, and was the Democratic nominee for theUnited States Senate in2006, losing toIndependent incumbentJoe Lieberman.[5][a]
Lamont ran for governor in2010 but lost the Democratic primary to formerStamfordmayorDannel Malloy, who won the general election. He ran again in2018, winning the nomination and defeating RepublicanBob Stefanowski in the general election.[5] He faced Stefanowski again in2022, defeating him by a wider margin.[6] As governor, Lamont signed legislationlegalizing cannabis,[7]sports betting, andonline gambling.[8][9][10] In 2025, Lamont vetoed legislation that would increase housing supply in Connecticut.[11]
Lamont was born on January 3, 1954, inWashington, D.C., to Camille Helene (née Buzby) and Edward Miner Lamont. His mother was born inSan Juan, Puerto Rico, to parents from the U.S. mainland, and later worked as a staffer for SenatorEstes Kefauver.[12] His father, an economist, worked on theMarshall Plan and served in theDepartment of Housing and Urban Development during theNixon administration.[13] He is the great-grandson of formerJ. P. Morgan & Co. chairThomas W. Lamont[14][15] and a grand-nephew of formerAmerican Civil Liberties Union director andNational Council of American–Soviet Friendship chairman and founderCorliss Lamont.[16] He is a distant descendant of colonial diaristThomas Minor, from whom he gets his middle name.[17][b]
Lamont's family moved toLaurel Hollow onLong Island when he was seven years old.[c] The eldest of three children, he and his sisters attendedEast Woods School.[12][19] He later attendedPhillips Exeter Academy, and served as president of the student newspaper,The Exonian. After graduating from Phillips Exeter in 1972, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology fromHarvard College in 1976 and aMaster of Business Administration from theYale School of Management in 1980.[19][20]
In 1977, Lamont became editor for theBlack River Tribune, a small weekly newspaper inLudlow, Vermont. During his time there, he worked alongside journalistsJane Mayer andAlex Beam.[21] After graduating from Yale, he entered the cable television industry, managing the startup operation inFairfield County, Connecticut, forCablevision.[20] In 1984, he founded Campus Televideo, a company that provides cable and satellite services to college campuses across the country.[22][23] He later chaired Lamont Digital Systems, a telecommunications firm that invests innew media startups.[24][25] Campus Televideo was its largest division beforeAustin, Texas-based firm Apogee acquired it on September 3, 2015.[26][23]
Lamont has volunteered atWarren Harding High School inBridgeport, teaching entrepreneurship and coordinating internships with local businesses.[27][28] He has been a teachingfellow at theHarvard Institute of Politics[29] and the Yale School of Management, as well as adjunct faculty member and chair of the Arts and Sciences Public Policy Committee atCentral Connecticut State University (CCSU), where he was named Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Philosophy.[28] During his time at CCSU, he was a lecturer in multiple classes and founded a business startup competition.[28][30] In 2019, he delivered thecommencement speech for CCSU, his first as governor.[31]
Lamont has served on theboard of trustees for theConservation Services Group,[32]Mercy Corps,[33] theNorman Rockwell Museum,[34] theYMCA, and theYoung Presidents' Organization.[35] He has also served on the advisory boards of theBrookings Institution and theYale School of Management.[35][36]
Lamont was first elected in 1987 as aselectman inGreenwich, Connecticut, where he served for one term. He ran forstate senate in 1990, against RepublicanWilliam Nickerson and incumbentEmil Benvenuto (who had switched his party affiliation from Republican toA Connecticut Party).[37] Nickerson won the three-way race with Lamont finishing third.[38] Lamont later served for three terms on the Greenwich town finance board and chaired the State Investment Advisory Council, which oversees state pension fund investments.[39][40]
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On March 13, 2006, Lamont announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate against incumbentJoe Lieberman.[41] On July 6, Lamont debated Lieberman on television, covering issues such as theIraq War, energy policy, and immigration. During the debate, Lieberman argued he was being subjected to alitmus test on the war, insisted he was a "bread-and-butter Democrat", and repeatedly asked, "Who is Ned Lamont?" Lieberman also asked Lamont if he would release hisincome tax returns, which he did afterward.[42]
Lamont focused on Lieberman's supportive relationship with Republicans, telling him "if you won't challengePresident Bush and his failed agenda, I will." He criticized Lieberman's vote for theEnergy Policy Act of 2005, which he dubbed the "Bush–Cheney–Lieberman energy bill." In response to the assertion that he supported Republican policies, Lieberman stated he had voted withSenate Democrats 90% of the time. Lamont argued the three-term incumbent lacked the courage to challenge theBush administration on the Iraq War.[42] He also criticized Lieberman for supporting federal intervention in theTerri Schiavo case.[43][44]
On July 30,The New York Times editorial board endorsed Lamont.[45] The same day,The Sunday Times reported thatBill Clinton warned Lieberman not to run as an independent if he lost the primary to Lamont.[46] Pledging to refuse money fromlobbyists during the election, Lamont funded most of his own campaign, with donations exceeding $12.7 million.[47][48]
Lamont won the primary with 52% of the vote.[49] (This was the onlySenate race in 2006 where an incumbent lost re-nomination.) In his concession speech, Lieberman announced he was standing by his earlier statements that he would run as an independent if he lost the primary.[50] Running under the banner ofConnecticut for Lieberman, Lieberman won the general election with nearly 50% of the vote (exit polls showed Lieberman won 33% of Democrats, 54% of independents, and 70% of Republicans).[51] TheSundance Channel documentary filmBlog Wars chronicled the influencepolitical blogging had on the election.[52]
While someResearch 2000 polls commissioned by theDaily Kos in 2007 and 2008 found he would win a Senate rematch with Lieberman by growing margins,[53][54] Lamont said he was not considering another campaign for Senate.[55] Research 2000 was later accused by the Daily Kos of fabricating their polling data. A lawsuit ended in 2012 with a default judgement against Research 2000.[56]
Lamont initially supportedChris Dodd'spresidential campaign.[57][58] After Dodd dropped out of the race, Lamont became a state co-chair forBarack Obama'spresidential campaign.[59] Obama's victory in theConnecticut Democratic primary was credited to Lamont's ability to turn out the voter base he had built during his Senate campaign.[60] In March 2008, he was a state delegate to the2008 Democratic National Convention, his support pledged to Obama.[61]
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On February 16, 2010, Lamont announced his candidacy for the 2010 gubernatorial election.[62] FormerStamford mayorDannel Malloy defeated him at the state Democratic convention on May 22, with 1,232 votes (68%) to Lamont's 582 (32%). Since he won more than 15% of the vote, Lamont was eligible to appear on the primary election ballot.[63] On August 10, he lost the primary to Malloy, receiving 43% of the vote.[64] Malloy defeatedRepublican candidateThomas C. Foley in the general election.[65]
On January 17, 2018, Lamont announced his candidacy to succeed Malloy, who was not seeking a third term.[66][5] He received the party endorsement at the state convention, and chose formerConnecticut Secretary of StateSusan Bysiewicz as his running mate. While missing the 15% threshold,Bridgeportmayor andex-convictJoe Ganim gathered enough signatures to appear on the Democratic primary ballot.[67] Despite the challenge, Lamont won the primary by over 130,000 votes (a 62.4% margin).[5][68] He then faced RepublicanBob Stefanowski and independentOz Griebel in the general election on November 6. Later that night, Griebel conceded the election; Stefanowski conceded early the next morning.[4]
Lamont won reelection to a second term as governor, with Bysiewicz as his running mate. He won the Democratic primary unopposed. He defeated Stefanowski in a rematch of their 2018 election with Lamont winning by a wider margin, becoming the first Democrat to win a gubernatorial election by more than five points in the state since1986.[69]
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Lamont was sworn in as the 89th governor of Connecticut on January 9, 2019, succeedingDannel Malloy.[70] Some of his top priorities upon taking office included implementingelectronic tolls on state highways; taxingonline streaming services; restoring theproperty taxcredit;legalizing marijuana for recreational use; increasing theminimum wage to $15 per hour; instituting paidfamily andmedical leave; renegotiating contracts withpublic-sector unions; and legalizingsports betting.[71] Lamont also prioritized investments in rail infrastructure, proposing shorter travel times between cities by upgrading rail lines, as well as extending theDanbury Branch toNew Milford and re-electrifying the line.[72][73]
In February 2019, Lamont appointed formerPepsiCo CEOIndra Nooyi co-director of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC), apublic-private partnership with the Department of Economic and Community Development tasked with revamping the state's economic development strategy. A year later, CERC rebranded itself as AdvanceCT. In April 2019, Lamont signed his firstexecutive order, which directed state office buildings and vehicle fleets to become more energy-efficient through an expanded "Lead By Example Sustainability Initiative". The initiative aims to reduce both the carbon footprint and cost of state government operations. In June 2019, Lamont signed a bill that bannedgay panic defense in Connecticut, and also signed three gun-control bills, including Ethan's Law, which requires safely storing firearms in households where children are present, bansprivately made firearms, and bans storing unlocked guns in unattended vehicles.
On June 26, Lamont signed his first biennium state budget, amounting to $43 billion. Because of the state's heavy reliance on business tax revenue, specifically from the finance and insurance sectors, Connecticut had struggled with large fluctuations and shortfalls in revenue.[74] To balance the budget (as legally required) without increasingincome taxes, two state pension funds were restructured to reduce expenses for two years. $170 million in transportation spending was cut, numerous taxes and fees increased, and several previously approved tax cuts canceled. This included an additional $50 million of taxes on LLCs and other small and mid-sized businesses, a 10% tax increase on alcoholic beverages and a 1% surcharge on restaurant food and other prepared meals. The budget also assumed the administration would save almost $460 million over two years by collaborating with state employee unions. Personal income tax rates did not increase in either of the biennium budgets Lamont signed.
Despite these cuts and tax increases, the budget increased funding for education and workforce development, maintained municipal aid funding so mayors and first selectmen had stability in local budgets, and included $2.2 billion in the state’s rainy day fund,[75] the largest in state history at the time.[76] Lamont said, "It's a budget that I think gets us back on track, holds the line on spending, holds the line on taxes. It gives people a great deal of confidence they know what’s going on." On March 8, 2020, Connecticut reported its first confirmedCOVID-19 case. As cases rose, Lamont declared a public health emergency. He limited visits to nursing homes and ordered all schools to close on March 16. Lamont issued an executive order closing all non-essential businesses on March 20 and issued a stay-at-home order on March 23. As cases continued to rise, he limited gathering sizes to five people and mandated face coverings in public. On May 20, Lamont lifted the stay-at-home order as cases began to subside. During the summer of 2020, non-essential businesses such as barber shops, gyms, and malls began to open. During the fall of 2020, cases and deaths began to rise again in the state. The state kept the mask mandate in place.[77]
In July 2020, Lamont signed into law a sweeping police reform bill that requires all police officers to be equipped withbody cameras, prohibits maneuvers such aschokeholds, creates a statewide watchdog forpolice misconduct, limits police departments' ability to withhold disciplinary records, and makes individual officers liable in civil lawsuits. On December 15, 2020, the first person in the state received the COVID-19 vaccine. In coordination with the federal government and private hospitals, Connecticut became the first state to vaccinate 50% of its adult population. On May 19, 2021, Lamont ended most of the state's restrictions. Bars, theaters, and ballparks were all able to open, but people were encouraged to wear masks. On May 29, Lamont signed a bill raising the state minimum hourly wage to $11 that October and $15 by 2023. Also in May 2021, he signed into law a bill to legalize online sports betting and gaming. His office negotiated the deal's terms with the General Assembly, the Mohegan Tribe, and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe.[78]
In June 2021, Lamont signed his second biennium state budget, amounting to $46 billion. The balanced budget, passed with bipartisan support,[79] expanded HUSKY A health insurance for 40,000 people, increased the state's rainy day fund to $4.5 billion, and increased the state's earned income tax credit for low-income earners to 30% of the federal credit, up from 23%,[80] and also legalizedrecreational marijuana usage for adults and created a legal framework for retailers. Connecticut is the 19th state to end cannabis prohibition. On June 25, Lamont signed into law an expansive family and medical leave program. Starting in 2022, Connecticut workers will be able to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave. Workers will be eligible for paid time off to care for a newborn, a seriously ill relative, or their own medical issue. The plan is paid for by a 0.5% payroll tax on all employees.[81]
In July 2021, Lamont signed a highway user fee on large commercial transports. The measure charges 2.5 cents per mile for vehicles weighing 26,000 to 28,000 pounds and 17.5 cents per mile for trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds.[82] The revenue is to be used to help repair state roads and highways.[83] Connecticut ranked 24th in CNBC’s annual top states for business study, up from 35th in the previous study, conducted in 2019. The state's ranking was driven by improvements in business friendliness, access to capital, infrastructure, and economy categories.[84] In October 2021, sports betting and online gaming officially launched. Bets can be made online at sites such asDraftKings andFanDuel and at a select few locations, including Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Casino.[85]
Also in October 2021, WalletHub named Connecticut the safest state in the country during the pandemic. COVID-19 transmission, positive testing, hospitalizations and death, and vaccination rates were used to determine the rankings.[86] In November 2021, at least 80% of people in the state, including children who had just been approved to receive the vaccine by the FDA, were partially vaccinated,[87][88] and administration of Connecticut'sCARES Act andAmerican Rescue Plan Act funds for economic recovery and stimulus.[89] According to the 2021 analysis of Connecticut's business environment the Connecticut Business & Industry Association conducts annually, business confidence was up 7% from the previous year while perception that the state's business climate was on the decline dropped by 15% from the previous year.[90]
On May 5, 2022, Lamont signed into lawHouse Bill 5414, which intended to protectabortion in Connecticut. It also prevents Connecticut judges from suing any person or corporation for receiving or performing an abortion in the state.[91]
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Lamont defeated Stefanowski again to win a second term in 2022. His second swearing-in took place on January 4, 2023, at theState Arsenal and Armory, along with Lieutenant GovernorSusan Bysiewicz and constitutional officers.[6]
On July 19, 2023, Lamont signed into law a series of bills aimed at protecting reproductive rights and increasing public access to birth control in Connecticut. These included Public Act 23-128, which protects medical providers from receiving "adverse actions" another state may try to enforce. It also protects licensed medical providers from having their licenses revoked, suspended, or denied renewal if they provide reproductive services to patients, including those who come from a state where abortion is illegal.[92]
In June 2025, Lamont vetoed a bill allowing striking workers to receive unemployment assistance. That same month, he also vetoed an OmnibusYIMBY bill that would have expandedaffordable housing, streamlined permitting for themissing middle housing and legalizedtransit oriented development.[93][94][95] In November 2025, it was revealed that Lamont had asked one of his aides to draft a statement announcing his support for the pro-housing housing legislation just thirteen days before ultimately vetoing the legislation.[11] It is unclear what caused Lamont to shift his views on the legislation.[11]
Lamont called theassassination ofCharlie Kirk "absolutely awful" and ordered US and state flags in Connecticut lowered to half-staff for him.[96]
 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2024) |
In his first year as governor, Lamont garnered consistently low approval ratings.Morning Consult had listed him among the ten least popular governors every quarter since his election. In a survey conducted in the last quarter of 2019, he was ranked the fourth most unpopular governor in the country, with a 51% disapproval rating and a 32% approval rating.[97]
Since the pandemic began in 2020, Lamont's approval ratings have been higher. In a May 2020Quinnipiac poll, he received a 65% approval rating and a 26% disapproval rating, with a 78% approval rating for his handling of the pandemic.[98] By October 2020, aSacred Heart University survey found his overall approval rating to be 53%, while 71% approved of his handling of the pandemic.[99][100] In a March 2021 Sacred Heart University poll, 70.7% of people approved of Lamont's handling of the pandemic and his approval stood at nearly 56%, almost double his 28.1% approval from the same pollster in December 2019.[101] As of 2022, Lamont has the highest approval rating of any Democratic governor.[102]
On September 10, 1983,[103] Lamont marriedAnn Huntress, aventure capitalist and managing partner atOak Investment Partners.[35][104] They have three children.[35] He and his family live inGreenwich and have avacation home inNorth Haven, Maine.[19] TheLamont Gallery on the campus ofPhillips Exeter Academy and theLamont Library atHarvard University are both named in honor of his family.[19]
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| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromConnecticut (Class 1) 2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Connecticut 2018,2022 | Most recent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Connecticut 2019–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Vice President | Order of precedence of the United States Within Connecticut | Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held |
| Succeeded by OtherwiseMike Johnson asSpeaker of the House | ||
| Preceded byasGovernor of Georgia | Order of precedence of the United States Outside Connecticut | Succeeded byasGovernor of Massachusetts |
Statewide elected officials and legislative leaders ofConnecticut | ||
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| U.S. senators |  | |
| State government | ||
| Senate |
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