Gubernatorial candidate David Stemerman is pressing fellow Republican contender Bob Stefanowski to explain to Republican primary voters why he switched his voter registration to the Democratic Party weeks before the 2016 presidential election.
Stefanowski has been asked on several occasions to explain the decision. In an interview on WFSB’s Face the State for instance, host Susan Raff asked the candidate about his registration, to which he responded, “It is what it is.”
Stemerman said July 31 that Stefanowski’s refusal to answer the question should raise serious questions for Republican voters.
“If as a candidate Bob won’t give voters an honest, straightforward answer on why he switched political parties just last year, then why should voters expect he will be straightforward with them if he’s our party’s nominee?” he said. “Republican primary voters deserve to know why Bob abandoned our party and our Republican presidential nominee and registered as a Democrat weeks before one of the most important elections in our history. The fact that Bob either can’t or won’t give Republican primary voters an honest answer to this critical question should speak volumes.”
Records in Stefanowski’s hometown of Madison show that in addition to switching his party registration, he also did not vote in support of any candidate – at the local, state for federal levels – for 16 years.
Stefanowski was working in London during much of that period and has said in interviews he regrets not casting an absentee ballot.
He has also donated thousands of dollars to multiple Democratic candidates over the years, including former Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd.
Stemerman was also registered as a Democrat, from 1996 to 2003, and donated to several Democrats, including Barack Obama in 2007. Most of his donations have been to Republicans, though, including Mitt Romney in his 2012 run against Obama.
Stefanowski switched his registration back to Republican in July 2017, shortly before announcing his bid for governor.