Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District is a hotly contested race that could have national impact.
On Wednesday, incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Johana Hayes and Republican Nominee George Logan were on the road campaigning.
Rep. Hayes was at the Meriden Senior Center, joined by Sen. Chris Murphy to talk about Medicare and social security.
“Republicans haven’t come right out and said we want to cut social security but the language, we want to find innovative ways to make cuts, we want to roll back the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, which allows us to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs, we want to raise the eligibility age,” said Rep. Hayes.
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Logan hosted a Get Out the Vote Rally, door knocking in Waterbury, and talking to voters. He responded to his opponent’s remarks.
“It is utterly ridiculous to think I’m going to rollback social security and Medicaid. I repeated over and over again, I’m only going to do things to strengthen and make it better,” George Logan said.
The race for the seat in congress has both state and national attention, perhaps even determining who will control congress.
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“I think this is critical for the Northeast. Because, you know, it's been years since we've seen a Republican Candidate in the House of Representatives. It's been a long time, especially for Connecticut, quite frankly, since Christopher Shays,” Associate Professor of Political Science Jonathan Wharton said.
A new Quinnipiac University poll shows that 48% of voters would like the Republican Party to win control of the house, 44% favor the Democratic Party.
That is a change from an August poll, when only 43% favored Republican house control, and 47% favored Democratic control.
Both candidates reacted to the new data Wednesday.
“That is not news. This district has always been split. It’s always been a district you have to fight for every single day up until the last day,” Hayes said.
“What gives me more hope is that people in the district, I am out in the district every day. There are 41 towns in the 5th District, and folks are fired up that they have an alternative,” Logan said.
A Republican has not represented the state's 5th district since Nancy Johnson, who lost the seat in 2006.
