Democratic U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes has won a fourth term representing Connecticut, dashing the hopes of Republicans who saw an opportunity to flip a seat in a state where they haven’t won a congressional election in 18 years.
Hayes defeated former Republican state Sen. George Logan on Tuesday in a rematch race that closely resembled their previous battle in 2022.
“You guys did this. You organized, you mobilized, you showed up, you brought your family, you brought your friends. You did this,” she told supporters in Waterbury before the race was called by The Associated Press.
Besides Hayes, the state's four other Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy all won reelection.
Throughout the campaign, both Hayes and Logan accused one another of being too cozy with their respective party leadership in Washington and not representing the everyday interests of the northwestern Connecticut district.
In their first matchup two years ago, Hayes defeated Logan by just 2,004 votes, less than 1% of the total cast.
But Hayes, the first Black woman to represent Connecticut in Congress, had the advantage this year of sharing the ballot with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. She had predicted it would help drive enthusiasm for down-ballot races like her own.
Logan, the Afro-Latino son of Guatemalan immigrants, had hoped to become the first Hispanic member of Congress from Connecticut. He focused heavily on his personal background during the campaign, even addressing voters in Spanish during a recent debate.
He also tried to portray himself as an independent thinker who would vote for legislation that suited the district, no matter which party proposed it, saying Washington was "broken and needs to be fixed.”
Hayes had argued that Logan could not be trusted to protect abortion rights or to buck his own party. She touted herself as a lawmaker who has delivered for the district, in both funding and legislation. Hayes also campaigned on her support for bills to lower drug prices and address gun violence.
Logan, a mechanical engineer who now works as a community relations director for a public water supply company, said he would vote for Trump, but he has walked a careful line on the campaign trail. He avoided talking about the Republican presidential nominee or aligning himself with Trump’s policies.
The race was mostly a reboot of 2022, with Logan even reusing some of his same advertising.
Connecticut has been challenging territory for Republicans in recent decades. The last Republican to win a House seat representing the state was former U.S. Rep. Chris Shays, who was voted out of office in 2008.
Incumbent Democrats in the state’s other four congressional districts all won their bids for reelection. U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, in the eastern part of the state, won a 10th term in a rematch race against former Republican state Rep. Mike France, whom he beat by 18 points two years ago. U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro won an 18th term; U.S. Rep. John Larson won a 14th term; and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes won a ninth term.
Murphy won a third term in a rematch against Republican Matt Corey, a small business owner who has pitched himself as “the fighter Donald Trump needs by his side.” The last Republican senator from Connecticut was Lowell Weicker, who lost in 1988 and later left the party.
“I’m here to say thank you and I’m here to pledge to the state of Connecticut that in my third term, there will not be a single day that I won’t look upon this opportunity as the greatest gift of my life,” Murphy told supporters in Hartford.
All state legislators were also up for reelection this year. Democrats currently hold a two-thirds majority in the state Senate but are just short in the House of Representatives. If they secure a net gain of three House seats, without losing any Senate seats, Democrats will have a supermajority in the General Assembly needed to override a gubernatorial veto.
Susan Haigh, The Associated Press