How did Rep. Jahana Hayes pass the toughest test of her career during the 2022 election? The wealthy suburbs of Hartford came through in a pinch when the traditionally strong cities nearly failed for her.
Democrats had a strong showing in the Northwest Corner, where Hayes won — in some cases, very widely — in Sharon, Cornwall, Falls Village, Salisbury, Norfolk and Kent. Logan won only a relatively narrow victory in a single Northwest town: Canaan.
Hayes also took the Farmington Valley, winning Avon, Farmington, Simsbury and Canton while losing only Burlington.
In both cases, those were towns where long-time Republican Rep. Nancy Johnson won re-election time after time. Without capturing more of those middle-class and more affluent suburbs, Logan faced a tough challenge: There weren’t enough votes in hard-right towns like Thomaston and Wolcott to overcome those losses.
Republicans appeared to have narrowed Hayes’ vote count in the big cities that traditionally roll up huge margins for Democrats. But privately, Republicans acknowledged that Logan’s numbers in the suburbs and small towns weren’t breaking more convincingly for them.
This erosion of support in the big cities is concerning but luckily the suburbs are still trending our way. The question for Rep. Jahana Hayes is whether or not she learned the lesson from barely passing a tough test in 2022.
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Jahana Hayes for Connecticut-5
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What’s the Big Idea?
Town results for CT-05 in 2022.
THIS HOUSE RACE IS RATED AS LEANS DEMOCRATIC, with a D+3 PVI
This district is tucked into the northwestern corner of Connecticut, which tends to be the most conservative area of the entire state. For example, Hillary Clinton won this district 50-46 in 2016 in an unexpectedly close race. Biden restored the margins to 54.6% to 43.9%, but this district may still be at risk if the election is close.
The area covered by the 5th district, little changed since Connecticut lost their 6th district in 2000, used to be very friendly to the Republican Party. Between 1982 and 2006, Rep. Nancy Johnson held this northwestern corner district fairly comfortably. That is why the 2006 blue wave was such a shocking election for everyone. Chris Murphy (now a senator) defeated her 56-44, which was an amazingly wide margin for this district.
Murphy handed off the seat to Rep. Elizabeth Esty, who held the district between 2012 and 2018. A minor scandal made her retire in 2018, and that allowed Rep. Jahana Hayes to claim this seat. Hayes did not have tough races in either 2018 or 2020 but 2022 was a different story. State Sen. George Logan had weak ties to the district but still gave Hayes the closest race of her career so far. The winning margin for Hayes was 2000 votes, or a 50.4% to 49.6% spread.
349k voters elected her in 2020, while only 254k voters cast their ballots in 2022. There is a sizable drop-off in the voter pool between the two elections, and I suspect that it was Democratic-leaning voters who chose to sit out the election.
Here’s where this 5th district race will be won.
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Hartford suburbs: New Britain is critical for the chances of Hayes as it is the largest and bluest town in the district. Other suburbs including Farmington and Avon are a light blue and also need to stay in Hayes’ column.
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Waterbury and Meriden: These cities close to one another are also a rich source of Democratic votes, and Hayes is from Waterbury. This is her home base, and she will need it to turn out for her to win the district once more.
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Danbury and Newtown: Newtown is a very light blue, and Danbury is another decent-sized city that requires attention. It is this area where Hayes underperformed the most in 2022.
Here’s where we need to keep the margins down, or we lose.
- Central Part of the District: There is a band of towns stretching from New Milford to New Britain that vote red . Some of them are a light shade of red such as New Milford or Woodbury. Others are a deeper shade of red such as Watertown or Wolcott. Hayes badly lost this stretch of the district in 2022 and needs a better performance in 2024 to win comfortably.
Rep. Jahana Hayes: From Teacher to Congresswoman
Hayes was National Teacher of the Year in 2016. She parlayed that notoriety into a successful run for Congress in 2018.
Rep. Jahana Hayes was born in Waterbury, Connecticut in 1973. She lived in the public housing projects and said about her upbringing: “I know what it’s like to go to bed to gunshots outside,” she told an audience at a candidate forum. “I know what it’s like to wake up in the morning to a dead body in the hallway."
Hayes went to Southern Connecticut State University for her teaching degree, and then went to St. Joseph’s University for her master’s in curriculum and instruction. She did this despite raising a small child during the process. Hayes first taught at the Southbury Training School, which teaches adults with major disabilities. She eventually returned to Waterbury to teach government and history.
Former President Barack Obama selected Hayes as National Teacher of the Year in 2016, and she toured the country and talk shows promoting her vision of what schools should look like in the 21st Century. This gave her the platform to eventually make it to Congress two years later.
Hayes chose to run for office in 2018 and had a contested primary election against a party machine candidate. With the help of the Connecticut Teachers Association, she received 62% of the primary vote. She also received help from the Connecticut Working Families Party in the primary race.
Naturally, issues concerning education are great strengths of hers. She calls for rebuilding crumbling schools and full funding of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act. She would expand opportunities for early education and child care through her proposed Childcare is Essential Act. Her highest priority in Congress is bolstering investment in teachers and other educational professionals through incentives to become a teacher and decreasing the amount of debt teachers take on through student loans.
Sandy Hook is in the district so strength on gun safety measures is almost a must for anyone thinking about representing this seat. Her first resolution in Congress was to prevent the use of federal funds to arm teachers. Hayes will continue to support reforms like assault weapon and ghost gun bans, safe storage requirements, and universal background checks.
She also is tackling equity and social justice issues when on Capitol Hill. She claims that all of her policies are viewed through this lens. This includes protecting democracy through the proposed Voting Rights Enhancement Act, the John Lewis VRA, and the For the People Act. She is also a sponsor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act because police should be held to the highest standards possible.
Women’s issues and especially women’s health issues are another strong area for Hayes. She rightfully calls out the misogynoir that MVP Harris faces knowing that she faces it as well.
Misogynistic and racist comments are not new to Black women in positions of power, Hayes said.
“I can tell you that I've experienced things like that,” Hayes said. “But you just work harder and you recognize that the good people outnumber those people.”
Hayes said recent remarks by Ben Proto, chair of the Connecticut Republican Party, saying Harris got her job because of “gender and racial politics,” were both “offensive and insulting.”
“It's not just in the corners of the internet,” Hayes said. “Ben Proto just said the other day, ‘she is a DEI hire,’ and that really is a racist, sexist comment.”
She spoke out against the Supreme Court taking away abortion rights from women. She called for women to become leaders in their communities instead of just passive participants. She is for codifying Roe into law and is also for expanded contraception access.
This recent ad goes over some priorities that I didn’t cover in the article above.
Rep. Jahana Hayes is an American success story going from poverty in the projects to Teacher of the Year to representing Connecticut in Congress. It would be a shame if this important voice in our coalition was defeated.
George Logan: Won’t Get Fooled Again
George Logan ran as more of a blank slate candidate in 2022. We won’t be fooled this time!
George Logan was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1969. His parents were born and raised in Guatemala but three of his four grandparents are originally from Jamaica. That gives him Afro-Latino roots and he is fluent in Spanish. He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from Trinity College and the University of Bridgeport, respectively.
Logan’s political career started in 2016 when he upset 24-year incumbent State Sen. Joseph Crisco, Jr. He was the first Black Republican elected to the state senate of Connecticut. He survived a recount in the 2018 race when labor union activist Jorge Cabrera ran. Cabrera would come back two years later and knock off Logan in the rematch.
Logan is trying to have it both ways on the issue of abortion, but the company he keeps speaks volumes about what his true position on the issue is. He endorsed Donald Trump after being pressed on the issue. He has campaigned with anti-abortion extremist Speaker Mike Johnson. Furthermore, he chose not to defend Roe in his 2022 campaign even after the Dobbs decision. He is a captive to the extreme MAGA elements of the party on the issue no matter what.
Logan is a reactionary when it comes to workers’ rights and growing the middle class. He voted against a paid family and medical leave law. He voted against raising the Connecticut minimum wage to $15/hr. He criticizes unions and claims they have an “unhealthy grip” on the Connecticut legislature. He even espoused that workers’ benefits should be cut! If you are a worker, Logan is bad news.
Logan tried to run as a moderate Republican in 2022 and is attempting to do the same thing in 2024, but the district won’t get fooled again by his empty promises.
How Can You Help?
Rep. Jahana Hayes has a well-organized Volunteer page with links to phone bank, canvass, and much more. I wish every campaign had a volunteer page as organized as hers is.
Hayes definitely has an advantage in the fundraising department. These numbers are from the end of July, but Hayes had $2.1M to spend in comparison to challenger George Logan who had about $1M to spend. Logan has enough to still be competitive and the end-of-quarter deadline is near so please rush a donation to Hayes!
Both sides are planning on spending money to contest this district. The only media market covering this district is Hartford, and this is the only competitive race in the area. The DCCC and its allies have reserved $800k to defend Hayes, while the NRCC and its allies have reserved a grand total of $2.1M to try to unseat her.
Canvassing season is in overdrive with the election drawing ever closer. Danbury has a door-knocking operation every weekend. Newtown has dates available on Sundays. The day to do canvassing in Torrington is Saturday. Avon and Canton are critical and are featured every Saturday and Sunday. New Britain is so important that the campaign has two different times every Saturday. Meriden has its time to shine on Saturdays and Sundays as well.
There are also many phone banking opportunities, both virtual and in person. That means anyone in America can choose to help Rep. Jahana Hayes out! There is a special woman-to-woman phone bank happening today in Kent. Otherwise, there are phone banking opportunities in Kent, Danbury, Southbury, Trumbull, Waterbury, New Britain, and Meriden. I’m hoping this operation is a well-oiled machine because there are so many options available for those interested in volunteering!
There are even events already scheduled on election day for the district. If you don’t mind burning some gas, you could drive voters to the polls. Some don’t have transportation and that makes it difficult to get to the precinct. Drivers can fill in that gap. If you have the day off, you could also volunteer to stand near critical polling places and hold signs and be the first to report back results to the campaign.
Rep. Jahana Hayes now has the advantage because it is a Presidential year and the electorate will be different. The close call likely energized the Democratic Party in the area which will be a huge help. She sits in the 21st most vulnerable seat held by the Democratic Party based on the 4th closest House race in 2022.
Please don’t be fooled by George Logan. He may present himself as a throwback to the days of the moderate Republican but that’s not the case. He’s a slippery one for sure and dodges taking a position on too many issues. What is most important is that he is a vote for Mike Johnson to continue as Speaker.
The ads have been positive so far, but expect that to change as we get closer to election day.
The ad war has begun in Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District as the campaign for the state’s most competitive federal race ramps up heading into the fall.
Both candidates launched new television ads over the past week with the end of summer approaching and voters starting to turn their attention to campaigns down the ballot after the upheaval in the presidential race. So far, the dueling ads have stayed relatively positive and mainly focus on their biographies and priorities.
Republican challenger George Logan ran two ads last week that overlapped with the Democratic convention. And U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th District, released the first TV ad of her campaign this week.
The question for Hayes is did she learn her lesson from barely passing the 2022 test in time for the 2024 election.
Jahana Hayes for Connecticut-5
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