CONNECTICUT, USA — Incumbent Rep. Jahana Hayes has declared victory over her Republican challenger, former State Sen. George Logan for the Fifth District seat in the U.S. House.
Logan conceded on X around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday saying he spoke with Hayes and congratulated her on her hard-fought victory.
The last time Hayes, a Democrat, and Logan, a Republican, ran against each other for the Fifth District Seat in the U.S. House was in 2022. Hayes won by less than a percentage point with 2,000 votes over Logan, which the Secretary of State said was enough not to trigger a recount.
Historically, the Fifth District has been the most competitive out of all congressional races. It includes parts of northwestern and central Connecticut, as seen on the map here.
Rep. Jahana Hayes (D) - Incumbent
Hayes is from Waterbury and currently serves on the House Committee on Education and Workforce as the vice ranking member and on the House Agriculture Committee, where she is the ranking member of the subcommittee on nutrition, foreign agriculture and horticulture.
According to her biography, she was elected in November 2018 as the first African American woman to represent Connecticut in Congress. She was also given the title of Waterbury Teacher of the Year and Connecticut Teacher of the Year during her 15 years as a history teacher at John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury before she earned the distinction of 2016 National Teacher of the Year.
Areas of legislative focus for Hayes include "equitable access to quality education, affordable health care, labor, agriculture and veterans' issues," as well as the "environment, immigration reform, gun violence prevention, social justice, transportation" and bridging the divide between political parties, her biography says.
Hayes has signed 11 bills into law during her time in Congress. She introduced 80 and co-sponsored over 2,100 pieces of legislation concerning topics including education, veterans' issues, environment, healthcare, nutrition and agriculture.
According to the Associated Press, Logan accused Hayes of not doing enough to help people who can't afford groceries, gas or rent. He also claimed that Hayes repeatedly votes with national Democrats, which she denied, and that she "cannot fathom an independent voice in Washington." The AP said that in 2022, he associated her with President Joe Biden and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
George Logan (R)
Logan, from New Haven and the son of immigrants in Guatemala, is a former state senator for the 17th district who served as the assistant State Senate Republican leader and was a ranking member of the human services and veterans affairs committees. He also served as a member of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee and the Regulation Review Committee, according to his biography.
If he wins the election, Logan will be the first Republican congressperson in Connecticut since Chris Shays, who lost to Jim Himes in the 2008 election.
Logan is described on his campaign website as a "family man, engineer, community leader and a small business leader." Before being senator, he began an engineering career for Aquarion Water Company before moving to environmental management and community relations.
He also served as a girls' basketball coach for Assumption School and was a board member for "Griffin Hospital, the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Central Connecticut Coast YMCA and Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut," according to his website.
In 2017, Logan was presented with the Connecticut Alliance of YMCAs' Legislative Champion Award, as well as the George Bellinger Corporate Award by the Greater Bridgeport NAACP George Bellinger Corporate Award for “leadership in diversity and inclusion with a focus on community outreach and professional development.”
According to Logan's campaign website, his priorities include fixing inflation, fighting "power grabs by out-of-touch politicians who think they know better than the people of Connecticut," reducing gas prices, supporting first responders and veterans, and helping to secure the U.S. border.
Despite Logan's attempt to portray himself as an independent and moderate candidate, Hayes claimed during the Oct. 10 debate that he "refuses to say" how he really feels about issues, including his support for former President Donald Trump, according to the AP.
Hayes also said that her opponent cannot be trusted on abortion, despite Logan's claim that he supports abortion rights, the AP said.
During the debate, she noted that she supports aid to Israel and that she was the only one of the two who acknowledged "the suffering of Palestinian people" who "have a reason and a right to be passionate about this issue."
Logan said, "Israel has a right to defend itself. War is terrible. I believe in a two-state solution."
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Sean Humphrey is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at shumphrey@fox61.com
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