They probably will not ask about Saudi Arabia. Connecticut and Rhode Island Republicans will gather at the White House Thursday. They’ll hear from Trump administration officials, including Connecticut Republicans Linda McMahon and Justin Clark. McMahon was the 2010 and 2012 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate. She was also a generous contributor to the 2016 Trump catastrophe for the nation as well as a contributor to the controversial Trump Foundation.

Clark works in the Trump White House. He managed Tom Foley’s 2010 and 2014 races for governor against remarkably unpopular Democratic Governor Dannel P. Malloy. Clark was a member of the team that assisted professional Republican and Clinton Conspiracy theorist Brett Kavanaugh in his nomination to the Supreme Court. Imagine the war stories that come out of that tale. Literary agents can look forward to several more busy years.

Another unsettling moment from Republican gubernatorial nominee Bob Stefanowski. On Sunday’s Face the State, host Dennis House asked Stefanowski during a segment that appeared aimed at eliciting some specifics from Stefanowski on his budget plans what he would do with DCF. That’s the Department of Children and Families. House mentions that it deals with the state’s most vulnerable residents. Stefanowski goes into the story–which he has done before–of what it cost his father to provide care for his mother when she suffered from dementia. It is a  compelling circumstance that has been visited upon far too many. It has nothing to do with DCF and its mission to address the abuse and neglect of children. It appears Stefanowski either has no idea what DCF is or has given no thought to that agency in crisis. In either event, it is disturbing to think he’s made it this far in the long race without forming any thoughts on leading a department that has featured decades of troubles.

You can see the exchange about a minute and a half into this  eight minute clip.

Scandal kept U.S. Representative Elizabeth Esty off the November ballot. She will leave office in January after three terms. Nevertheless, the Cheshire Democrat is holding on to a hefty campaign exchequer—and spending some of it. Campaign finance laws are curious creations. Esty, whose personal fortune helped propel her into office in 2012, gets to keep spending funds donated for her re-election even if there is no re-election campaign.

Esty abandoned her 2018 campaign when Holy Week exposes revealed she had condoned violence in her congressional office. She failed to fire chief of staff Tony Baker for weeks after learning  he had terrorized another staff member, courageous Anna Kain. Esty eventually arranged a soft landing for Baker with severance and a recommendation for Baker to join the Ohio branch of Sandy Hook Promise, an anti-violence group born of the 2012 Newtown school killings. What Baker had on Esty that allowed him to negotiate the deal remains a mystery.

Esty hopes you have forgotten the details of the scandal that brought her down. If not, she’s using campaign funds to whitewash her remarkable abandonment of normal human instincts. Esty’s campaign is spending donor funds on online ads associating her with the fight against gun violence. It looks like a cynical ploy by the haughty Democrat as the sun sets on a career in office that benefited more from happenstance than substance. The ad, posted above, is notable most for a photo of Esty dominating the purchased space. While Esty fades, watch to see if the usual campaign finance reformers raise objections on Esty’s cynical use of donations.

Wednesday began with the Quinnipiac University Poll reporting petitioning candidate Nelson “Oz” Griebel enjoying a surge to 11% in his long shot bid for governor. Later in the day, Griebel reported only $38,959.33 in cash on hand September 30th. Griebel has raised just under $400,000–much of that cash infusions from the candidate.

A poll surprise can be a powerful spur to fundraising–but only if a campaign can contact likely donors, which is hard to do outside the confines of the two parties. Griebel is familiar to many influential members of Connecticut’s business community. The next week will reveal if they decide to fund his campaign in any meaningful way.

Vanishing Bob Stefanowski remains a mystery to many Connecticut leaders. The Republican nominee for governor missed forums on healthcare, non-profits, and children this week. These are groups that have been ill-treated for eight years by Democratic and Working Families Party incumbent Dannel P. Malloy. Declining to meet with them–especially after one group rescheduled to accommodate Stefanowski–is no way to make friends.

The Madison Republican better not blowoff this weekend’s meeting with African-American faith leaders.

Albertus Magnus search committee, you could saved Connecticut a lot of trouble if you’d just hired when he applied for that big job.

Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti and local developer Robert Scinto are friends again. The two are leading sponsors of an October 14th fundraising event for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski.

Scinto supported Republican David Walker, who was eliminated at the May nominating convention when he failed to win 15% of the delegates on any ballot. Lauretti also missed the 15% requirement and was unable to collect enough signatures to appear on the August primary ballot. The longtime Shelton mayor, also known as Public Official Number One in a document no one ever wants to appear in, pondered a run for governor as a petitioning candidate. Scinto went to prison for six months in 2011 for his part in the Shelton corruption scandal that occurred under Lauretti’s watch.

The event invitation includes legislative leaders and Stefanowski’s four vanquished primary opponents, including one referred to as “David Stemmerman.” Cassetta becomes Casssettta. Are there no proofreaders left in fundraising?

Greenwich Democrat Ned Lamont is adding $5 million to his gubernatorial campaign coffers. Lamont will show $5.5 million in the bank when he files his next campaign finance report on or before October 10th. Daily Ructions has learned that may not be the last hefty transfer of cash from the Lamont exchequer into his campaign.

Republicans are awaiting for their candidate, former pawn shop executive Bob Stefanowski, to boost his campaign with some green stuff that folds. Stefanowski was a self-funder during the party nomination campaign but has not been as eager to contribute since the August 14th primary.

Lamont’s largesse will allow him to overwhelm Stefanowski on the airwaves. The Republican’s as busy have been puny compared to what Lamont can purchase. Stefanowski, who was a Democrat last year, can expect some unflattering portrayals in the next round of Lamont ads.

Self-financing is a campaign finance method that used to offend perennial candidate and Lamont running-mate Susan Bysiewicz. No word on her objections to the advantages of the wealthy in politics being used to her benefit.

This is what panic looks like. Speaker of the House Joseph Aresimowicz is drafting lobbyists to head for his Berlin district October 7th to knock on doors. Members of the permanent government will receive their assignments at noon, campaign until 4 p.m., and then drink beer at Sliders while watching football and assuring Aresimowicz everything is fine, just fine.

When the lobbyist army completes its assignment, it will gather for alcohol and football. This may not be the best week for a campaign to highlight the consumption of beer by a high ranking public official.

Aresimowicz relied on union members to hit the ground in his too-close-for-comfort 2016 race. Prizes were offered to attract volunteers. Presiding over crumbling state finances may be making it harder for the union employee and speaker to re-sign local recruits.

The summons to campaign came from Aresimowicz spokeswoman Elizabeth Connelly, who helpfully included the names of all recipients in the message.

Five weeks until Connecticut elects a new government remains the state’s marquee news story. The campaign–particularly on a debate day–may overshadow a crucial story unfolding at the Capitol. The Committee on Children will hold a hearing today at 11 a.m. on the death of 16 year old “Destiny G.” on June 28, 2018, while in the care of the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Committee members will hear from Sarah Eagan, head of the Office of the Child Advocate (OCA).

OCA investigated the treatment and death of Destiny G., who was scheduled for release the day after she committed suicide. The Solnit Center (previously known as Riverview) will require the attention of the state’s next governor after many years of neglect within the executive branch. They should be paying attention today. The Solnit Center ought to be subject to independent oversight and also provides some opportunity for cost savings by engaging the services of probate providers. You can  find probate attorneys here!

Petitioning gubernatorial candidate Oz Griebel will join Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Bob Stefanowski on stage at the September 26th WFSB/UConn debate. Griebel and Lamont participated in the first post-primary debate. Stefanowski skipped that one. Griebel was not included in the two subsequent debates. The debate will be broadcast live on WFSB from 7 p.m.-8 p.m.

This debate will be the most important opportunity Griebel will have in the campaign to insert himself as a factor in the campaign. He’s done if he cannot improve on his rambling debut at the University of Saint Joseph at the beginning of September. There is considerable dissatisfaction with the two major party candidates. Connecticut voters have been receptive to independent candidates. They elected Lowell Weicker governor in 1990 and returned Joe Lieberman to the U.S. Senate in an epic 2006 contest. As long ago as 1970, U.S. Senator Thomas Dodd placed a respectable third after he was repudiated for renomination by his fellow Democrats, opening the way for Weicker to win his first term in the Senate.

Griebel’s runningmate, Monte Frank, will join Democrat Susan Bysiewicz and Republican Joe Markley on September 27th at a WFSB debate that will be streamed online. Parts of it will be featured on the following Sunday’s edition of Face the State. Do not be surprised if this is a more interesting encounter than the gubernatorial debate the day before.