Steve Obsitnik

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Steve Obsitnik

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 14, 2018

Education

Bachelor's

U.S. Naval Academy

Graduate

University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Personal

Profession

Chair and chief executive of Quintel Technology

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Personal website

Personal Facebook

Personal Twitter

Steve Obsitnik (Republican Party) ran for election for Governor of Connecticut. He lost in the Republican primary on August 14, 2018.

Click here for more information on the August 14 Republican primary election. Click here for more information on the November 6 general election.

Obsitnik was a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 4th Congressional District of Connecticut. Obsitnik ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 14, 2012. He was defeated in the general election by incumbent Jim Himes.

Biography

Education:

• The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, M.B.A.
• U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, B.S. in electrical engineering
• Stamford High School

Career

Military:

• U.S. Navy, Lieutenant on board the U.S.S. Ray (SSN653)

A summary of Obsitnik's professional work include:

• SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute), research and development organization
• Sarnoff Corporation, research and development organization
• CEO of Quintel, a provider of wireless infrastructure to mobile operators with operations in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Elections

2018

See also: Connecticut gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

General election for Governor of Connecticut

Ned Lamont defeated Bob Stefanowski, Oz Griebel, Rod Hanscomb, and Mark Stewart Greenstein in the general election for Governor of Connecticut on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ned Lamont (D)	49.4	694,510
		Bob Stefanowski (R)	46.2	650,138
		Oz Griebel (Griebel Frank for CT Party)	3.9	54,741
	Submit photo	Rod Hanscomb (L)	0.4	6,086
		Mark Stewart Greenstein (Amigo Constitution Party)	0.1	1,254
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	74

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,406,803
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kameron Scott (Independent)
• Micah Welintukonis (Independent)
• Thomas Ford (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Connecticut

Ned Lamont defeated Joe Ganim in the Democratic primary for Governor of Connecticut on August 14, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ned Lamont	81.2	172,567
	Submit photo	Joe Ganim	18.8	39,976

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 212,543
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jonathan Harris (D)
• Lee Whitnum (D)
• Betheona Guiles-Smith (D)
• Guy Smith (D)
• Jacey Wyatt (D)
• Luke Bronin (D)
• Sean Connolly (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Connecticut

Bob Stefanowski defeated Mark Boughton, David Stemerman, Tim Herbst, and Steve Obsitnik in the Republican primary for Governor of Connecticut on August 14, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Stefanowski	29.4	42,041
		Mark Boughton	21.3	30,475
		David Stemerman	18.3	26,177
		Tim Herbst	17.5	25,063
		Steve Obsitnik	13.4	19,102

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 142,858
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Eric Mastroianni (R)
• David Walker (R)
• Antonietta Boucher (R)
• Dave Walker (R)
• Peter Thalheim (R)
• Joseph Visconti (R)
• Mark Lauretti (R)
• Peter Lumaj (R)
• Prasad Srinivasan (R)
• Scott Merrell (R)
• Michael Handler (R)

2012

See also: Connecticut's 4th Congressional District elections, 2012

Obsitnik ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Connecticut's 4th District. Obsitnik won the nomination on the Republican ticket. The signature filing deadline was June 12, 2012. The primary date was August 14, 2012. He was defeated in the general election on November 6, 2012 by incumbent Jim Himes.

U.S. House, Connecticut District 4 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jim Himes Incumbent	60%	175,929
	Republican	Steve Obsitnik	40%	117,503
Total Votes				293,432
Source: Connecticut Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Campaign themes

2018

Campaign website

The following issues were found on Obsitnik's official campaign website:

“	Fiscal Stability The simple fact is that job growth is stronger when a government costs less. Sadly, decades of Hartford neglect and ineptitude has made Connecticut’s state government bloated and unresponsive to the needs of our communities. Step one in Reinventing Connecticut is making our state more affordable by making state government smaller and more efficient. I’ll require transparent budgeting and make Hartford accountable for every tax dollar spent. Using a common-sense business approach, we make the government more efficient saving upwards of $1 billion annually. Just a 5% efficiency gain in government as large as ours would translate to nearly $300 million in savings. And, we must reform state pensions to ensure they are sustainable and secure for both the recipient and the taxpayer. CT Jobs Engine Connecticut’s economy never recovered from the Great Recession. Personal incomes are growing too slow and our economic decline is the worst in the country. In fact, since 1989 our state has only created 5,800 net jobs. As Governor, I will be Connecticut’s Chief Economic Development Officer. First, we will overhaul state regulations, impose a regulatory freeze and conduct a comprehensive review of all regulations to keep what works and get rid of what doesn’t. Under my plan, we will create 300,000 jobs, the number of new businesses will increase, wages and salaries will grow and we will focus on elevating productivity and creativity to unleash the drive and ingenuity of our people. Revitalize Education A great teacher and a safe and secure learning environment is a must for every student in Connecticut. We will push to keep education decisions at the local level, evaluate the school funding system and drive student and teacher standards while focusing on future preparation and graduation rates. We won’t rest until every child in Connecticut has access to the quality education they need and deserve. We will allow our kids the chance for a better, more productive future by preparing them for it today. Infrastructure — Preparing CT for the Future Connecticut’s infrastructure is in desperate need of an overhaul. This means providing steady and predictable funding of the State Transportation Fund (STF) to make urgent and necessary investments of almost $100 billion. We must ensure all STF funds go into a lock box where Hartford politicians can’t allocate those funds away from their intended targets. We will start this revitalization by prioritizing structural and technological changes to our infrastructure that will drive economic growth. Opioid Crisis In 2017, Connecticut saw more 1,000 fatal drug overdose deaths. The opioid crisis has become an epidemic impacting many communities across our entire state and affecting so many lives. We need to take steps that attack this crisis at every level. We must address this from many perspectives including prescription oversight and law enforcement. Empowering recovery centers to take care of people impacted by a system that needs to be changed while we reduce the stigma related to opioids so people can get the help they need. We also must look to grow the economy so people have opportunity and hope for the future beyond the despair that opioids have had on people's lives.	”
—Obsitnik for Governor

2012

Campaign website

Obsitnik's campaign website listed the following issues:

• Job Creation

Excerpt: "Creating jobs is my highest priority for the 4th District, Connecticut and our nation. America works when we encourage innovation and free enterprise, not when big government creates uncertainty and inefficiency."

• Fiscal Independence

Excerpt: " Our national debt continues to grow at an accelerating rate. Unsustainable borrowing puts our economic fate in the hands of other countries who don't have our best interests at heart."

• National Security

Excerpt: " We live in a world where economic, energy, and environmental security fundamentally impact military strategy. As a Navy veteran I understand that our armed forces must have the flexibility not only to defend our interests, but to operate proactively when necessary. "

• Outstanding Education

Excerpt: "Innovation and creativity have been the hallmarks of American economic progress, but our educational system is failing to prepare and inspire our most precious resource, our children."

• Women

Excerpt: "As your Congressman, I will support: Equal compensation and opportunity in our economy."

Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Obsitnik lives in Westport, Connecticut with his wife, Suzanne Tager, and their two children.

See also

• Governor of Connecticut
• Connecticut gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Governor of Connecticut
• Campaign website
• Facebook page

Footnotes

[show]

Connecticut's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Richard Blumenthal (D)

Christopher Murphy (D)

Representatives

District 1

John Larson (D)

District 2

Joe Courtney (D)

District 3

Rosa DeLauro (D)

District 4

Jim Himes (D)

District 5

Jahana Hayes (D)

Democratic Party (7)