CONNECTICUT, USA — All five of Connecticut's U.S. House of Representative seats are up for grabs this election. In the Second Congressional District, which encompasses most of the Eastern part of the state, Democrat Joe Courtney will be going head-to-head with his Republican challenger Mike France.
You can read more about the two candidates and their policy positions below.
Rep. Joe Courtney (D) - Incumbent
Congressman Joe Courtney is the incumbent Democrat candidate for Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional district seat in Washington and has served in the position for 18 years now.
In the House, Courtney is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and House Education and Workforce Committee.
Courtney’s top priorities, listed on his campaign website, include infrastructure, agriculture, health care, defense and submarine building, education and veterans.
In an interview with FOX61’s Emma Wulfhorst on “The Real Story,” which aired Sunday, Oct. 27, Courtney said that one of the big issues Congress is trying to handle in Washington is navigating the “intense” political climate and the polarization of it. He said he and his constituents want to find a way to “stop the drama” and “have people work together.”
When it comes to the residents of his district, Courtney said that “Eastern Connecticut is a very pragmatic population. People want to know not just what speech did you give but what change have you made [in Congress]?”
During his time in office thus far, Courtney initially secured $600 million in federal funding for the Navy to start working on submarine designs, which led to Electric Boat building two Virginia class subs per year and constructing the new Columbia class, according to his campaign website. Courtney also helped EB and other manufacturers launch a program that has since put 2,000 students with manufacturing backgrounds into the workforce.
He told FOX61 he has been focusing more on education institutions that are creating career pathways in manufacturing and health care, which can also lead to manufacturing in the submarine industry.
“The trade schools are on fire right now,” Courtney told FOX61, adding that those schools have waiting lists. He said that even non-trade comprehensive high schools are creating similar career path programs and that he has attended several ribbon cuttings of these programs opening at local schools in his district.
In response to concerns about progress in getting submarines in the water to defend the U.S. and our Aukus allies in a timely manner, Courtney said on FOX61 that “EB is actually outpacing shipyards and supply chain companies because their hiring has been so successful, but we need to strengthen that supply chain to get that production cadence up to the level we need.”
Courtney sees that there is “encouraging bipartisan support for Aukus.”
From food to medicine to housing, affordability seems to be on everyone’s minds lately.
Courtney said housing has become a national issue. “The only path forward” is to expand the housing supply, including building more starting homes and more housing units, Courtney told FOX61. He said this would bring down rent and housing prices and would do more than loan down payment assistance alone.
The Inflation Reduction Act is set to cap out-of-pocket prescription costs for those on Medicare to $2,000 and the negotiated lower prescription prices for those with Medicare Part D were announced earlier this year. Courtney shared his support for Lower Drug Costs for American Families Act, proposed last year, which would “extend those savings to working-class families” if the bill passes and becomes law.
Courtney believes that medical decisions “should be left by and large to women and their physicians.”
Mike France (R)
Mike France is on the Republican ticket for the 2nd Congressional District of Connecticut. This will be a rematch for him and Democrat Incumbent Joe Courtney since France ran to take the seat from Courtney in 2022.
France is a Navy veteran, serving on active duty for two decades. He became Supervisor of Shipbuilding in Groton in 2002, and before that, served at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
For civil duties, France was elected as a member of the Ledyard Town Council in 2011 and chaired the finance committee. He was also a Town Council Liaison to multiple municipal groups.
He then served four terms as the State Representative for the 42nd District before leaving office in 2023. During his time in the legislature, he served on the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee, the General Administration and Elections Committee, and the CGA’s Conservative Caucus.
In an interview with FOX61’s Emma Wulfhorst on “The Real Story,” which aired Sunday, Oct. 27, he discussed the status of Electric Boat’s performance in Connecticut and health care.
While talking to voters in the district, France said he heard voters express concern about the state of the economy and immigration at the border.
France believes that building one submarine per year for the use of defending the U.S. and our allies in Aukus is insufficient and that if he is elected, he will use the experience he gained at the SUBASE to boost production.
“I bring an experience that’s just not present right now that can help Electric Boat deliver on the two per year and not just continue on the pace of one per year, that is not helping the region or national security,” he told FOX61.
France said he believes building at least two subs per year will keep our end of the commitment to Aukus, and that COVID is no longer an excuse for the underperformance.
“Aukus was a needed thing with our ally given the regional threat of China in the Pacific,” he told FOX61. “I think we need to make sure when we make commitments to our allies we can honor them.”
France knows that bringing talent to EB will help address the submarine production.
“One of the challenges EB has is bringing on people and making sure they are bringing on qualified, technical experience to replace people who are retiring as well as to grow the number of people they need in order to be able to deliver on some of the contracts they have,” France said.
France believes that health care legislation, specifically reproductive health care, should be handled on the state level.
“We are back to the states having control appropriately and I think the state of Connecticut, based on the will of the people, the legislature has codified Roe and that is the plan that is going forward in the state,” France said.
France advocates for parents to be involved in decisions involving their children, particularly being notified before an abortion if the patient is their child under 18 years of age.
Citing Republican Congressman Greg Murphy (N.C.-03), France said that if the “middle man” is eliminated to allow direct sales from pharma companies to retailers, then costs of medicine can go down.
This past month, France faced backlash, but doubled down on his message, when he shared a meme about Breast Cancer Awareness Month on social media. The meme was his face edited onto a buff body that was holding a sign telling women “let me help” with breast exams. Women in Democrat leadership denounced his post, saying it was sexist and was sexualizing a deadly disease. France did not apologize for the joke and shared a similar graphic a second time, but also reiterated the severity of the cancer and shared resource articles for people to learn more.
----
Leah Myers is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at LMyers@fox61.com
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iOS: Click here to download
Android: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.
