This Sunday on Face the State, we were joined by New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, making her first appearance since her historic election in 2013. During our taping, we talked about the ups and downs during her two and half years at City Hall, her plans to create jobs and revitalize downtown.

Re-elected last fall, Mayor Stewart is regarded in the state Republican party as a rising star. We talked about how she’s been able to win and govern in a blue-collar city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 7 to 1. Stewart has silenced and impressed some of her earlier critics, and a few of them have even suggested her name as a candidate for governor in 2018. So, is this Republican rising star thinking about a run for the state’s top office?

DH: We’ve had people on this program who’ve suggested that you should run for governor in 2018.
ES: I’m extremely flattered by it…Do I think I could do the job? Absolutely. Am I there yet, I’m not sure yet. I still have an election in New Britain in 2017….I’m not ruling it out.”

Mayor Stewart also said Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton will definitely run for governor again in 2018 and said Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst is thinking about it.

WATCH Mayor Stewart here: http://www.wfsb.com/clip/12432873/what-comes-next-for-city-of-new-britain

Also on the program Sunday, another local leader whose future could benefit from Stewart’s popularity. Sherman First Selectman Clay Cope is the Republican nominee for congress in CT-5. Cope was was highly critical of the woman he hopes to replace, Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, calling her out of touch.

CT-5 is a diverse district where Republicans have won in the past, but Democrats have controlled for the past decade. This year is hardly a usual election year, and the 5th is no exception. Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton in the district in the primary a few weeks ago, and Donald Trump got more votes than Clinton in Newtown, even though some Sandy Hook parents threw their support to the former secretary of state.

Watch the complete interview Clay Cope right here: http://www.wfsb.com/clip/12432883/sherman-first-selectman-wants-congressional-seat