Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro has been the longest-serving member of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation, but she says she’s not done.
“The single biggest issue that people face in this community, this state, the country is cost of living,” DeLauro, (D-3rd District) said.
But if she’s going to win a 17th term down in Washington, she’ll have to beat Republican Michael Massey.
Massey says he’s running as a Republican because he thinks Democrats have taken Black voters for granted. He believes he’s the beginning of a surge of Black Republicans from urban districts.
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“We've been run by the Democratic party for so long in these urban neighborhoods and we’re doing awful,” Massey said.
Massey co-owns Black Corner Store but said he temporarily closed it to run for office. He became inspired to join the Republican party while he was watching the news while serving time in prison for robbery and drug-related charges and heard former President Donald Trump speak.
DeLauro pushed back, saying Trump’s policies would not help cities or people of color.
“If he is supportive of Donald Trump, then he ought to really read Project 2025,” she said.
DeLauro says she wants to keep helping Connecticut families by going after price gouges and making the child tax credit permanent.
She also supports a Senate immigration bill that beefs up patrol agents and speeds up the asylum process.
“We need to address the system but we have to have humanity,” she said.
Massey said giving money back to families in cities will help deter crime. This includes eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and using the money to give bonuses to families whose children succeed in school.
He also supports former President Trump’s proposals to crack down on undocumented migrants.
“Illegal immigration does not affect these rich liberals because they’re not going into their neighborhoods,” Massey said. “We have to move over.”
The two candidates have different views on the war in the Middle East. DeLauro wants a ceasefire.
“I'm also very, very concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” she said.
Massey also wants an end to the war but thinks the U.S. will need to help Palestinians relocate elsewhere to ensure permanent peace.
“They can’t live next door to each other,” he said. “They can’t and everyone knows this.”
The two candidates also have very different views on affordable housing.
DeLauro supports Vice President Kamala Harris’s housing plan, including funding for more construction and aid for first-time buyers.
Massey says the answer is to build more cities and to use technology to make them efficient and environmentally friendly.
Another disagreement is on access to abortion. DeLauro wants a federal law restoring protections under Roe v. Wade, while Massey says each state should decide for itself.
