Jahana Hayes has won reelection for a third term, fending off a challenge from a former state senator in a Connecticut race that national Republicans had targeted and resisting a red wave that overwhelmed some of her fellow Democrats in neighboring New York.
Hayes defeated George Logan, a Republican who repeatedly linked her with President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The race attracted millions of dollars in outside money, with national Republicans seeing the western Connecticut 5th Congressional District as a key opportunity to crack Democrats’ lock on the state's congressional delegation.
Republicans made gains all around Hayes’ district, picking up at least two seats in Congress just across the state line in New York’s Hudson River Valley.
Hayes, a former National Teacher of the Year, became the first Black woman to represent Connecticut in Congress when she was elected in 2018 by the politically diverse district covering western and central parts of the state.
During the campaign, she focused heavily on abortion rights, arguing Logan couldn’t be trusted on the issue despite promising he wouldn’t support a national ban. Hayes also touted her record of passing legislation and delivering funding to the district, including money for police departments.
“People don’t have to wonder what I’ll do when I’m elected to Congress because people know what I’ve already done,” Hayes said in a debate.
The race was a very tight one, with both Hayes and Logan predicting they would win after all the votes were counted. Hours after polls closed, Hayes told her supporters she didn’t plan on going to sleep and would wait until every vote was counted.
“Waterbury, you sent me to Washington and it’s only a matter of time before you send me back,” she said.
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