
Incumbent Jahana Hayes (left) and Republican challenger George Logan appeared for the Fifth Congressional District debate at Central Connecticut State University October 20, 2022.
Mark Mirko/CT Public
Incumbent Jahana Hayes (left) and Republican challenger George Logan appeared for the Fifth Congressional District debate at Central Connecticut State University October 20, 2022.
As national groups and leaders start turning their attention to Connecticut’s most competitive House race, the candidates for the 5th Congressional District are seeing an uptick in fundraising ahead of a likely rematch.
In the first three months of the year, Republican candidate George Logan raised slightly more money than U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes for the second fundraising quarter in a row. But the Democratic incumbent still maintains a significant cash advantage, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission for the first quarter of 2024.
Logan, a former state senator who narrowly lost to Hayes in 2022, brought in more than $590,000 from January through the end of March. During that same time period, he spent $220,000. Logan nearly doubled his bank account since the last fundraising quarter, and has about $740,000 on hand.
Hayes, meanwhile, raised more than $560,000 over the past three months and spent about $162,000. She has about twice the amount of money in the bank compared to Logan, going into the second fundraising quarter of 2024 with more than $1.4 million.
Hayes defeated Logan in November 2022 by 2,004 votes, and the anticipated rematch is on track to get the same national attention in November.
Logan, the son of Guatemalan immigrants who had roots in Jamaica, got into state politics in 2016 when he won his first election and unseated a longtime Democratic state senator. He won again in 2018, but narrowly lost reelection in 2020.
A Republican from Connecticut has not served in the U.S. House since 2009. The last Republican to represent the 5th District was former Rep. Nancy Johnson, who lost reelection in 2006 to Democrat Chris Murphy, who is now a U.S. senator.
Hayes, who became the first Black woman to represent Connecticut in Congress, announced last August she would seek a fourth term. Prior to her election, she was a teacher in Waterbury and was named the 2016 National Teacher of the Year.
While Hayes won her two previous elections by big margins in 2018 and 2020, her most recent race against Logan was one of the most competitive and expensive in years. He came close to a win during a midterm year, but is now running during a presidential election year. Biden easily won the state and the 5th District in 2020.
With upwards of $12 million in outside spending in 2022, money is once again expected to flood Connecticut’s 5th District this year. But so far, fundraising has largely been on the candidate side.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the top super PAC for House Republicans, has targeted a number of competitive races including in Connecticut. Similar to the 2022 cycle, Logan will likely get major financial resources to compete against Hayes ahead of November.
In the most recent fundraising quarter, CLF donated $10,000 directly to Logan’s campaign, but the group is expected to play more of an indirect role like the last election cycle when it runs ads on his behalf, though super PACs cannot coordinate with a campaign or candidate.
Both Hayes and Logan got donations from a number of members of Congress in the past fundraising quarter, including from leadership within their respective parties.
U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., who is House minority whip, donated to Hayes. Meanwhile, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik’s leadership PAC both contributed to Logan.
Hayes also got a range of support from political action committees representing labor unions and agricultural groups that are likely invested in reauthorizing the Farm Bill.
As the race heats up, both parties have been trying to cast one another as extremists and drawing early contrasts.
Democrats have raised concerns about Johnson’s voting record being too extreme for a blue state like Connecticut and moderate Republicans, noting his opposition to same-sex marriage being codified into federal law, support for a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks, and efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Hayes has made fundraising appeals since Johnson’s visit, tweeting that his stance on some issues “further solidifies my opponent’s embrace of the most extreme MAGA policies,” referring to former President Donald Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again.”
When asked if Johnson’s record and support for Trump hurts Logan and other GOP candidates in the state, Republicans have pushed back, seeking to link Hayes’ voting record to progressive members of Congress known as “The Squad.”
“We know we’re up against the most entrenched Washington special interest groups who have made it clear that Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District is a must win for them, and they will spend whatever it takes to maintain the status quo,” Logan said.
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U.S. Congresswoman Jahana Hayes of the 5th District chats with Tom Holcombe during her community meeting in Kent on May 27.
KENT — Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Jahana Hayes began her community meeting May 27 with optimism. Speaking before a large crowd at the Community House, she said, “I don’t want people to think the sky is falling and we’re losing our democracy.”
She said she was there to hear from those in attendance, but first made a quick comment about how Congress spent so much time debating President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill.” Mention of the legislation brought loud boos from the audience. “Every day we realize how egregious it is,” she said.
Michael Jay was the first to address Hayes, noting the President has appeared to take away the power of the courts and wondered what Congress can do about that. Hayes said Democrats are well aware the courts are unable to uphold the contempt shown. She said many believe the bill has to be rewritten before it has a chance of passage.
Hayes, who is serving her third term representing the 5th District, defended her model of governing and the wealth of knowledge she brings to the position. Without disparaging some of the younger legislators, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she said she is performing in the way she was elected to do. “I’ve had 12 pieces of legislation passed and challenge anyone who says I’m a shrinking violet. I approach the job on my own terms and am never concerned about losing votes.”
“I would like your honest appraisal,” Austi Brown said to Hayes. “Is there any hope we can change the numbers in 2026 to stop the same from happening, whether one is happy or depressed?” Hayes responded that the Democrats are in a minority and the Republicans are not holding anyone accountable. Public sentiment is what is needed to shift the needle.
She is seeing some of her Republican colleagues getting nervous as their constituents are being hurt by their party’s actions. They are seeing protests. “I think that will be the saving grace,” said Hayes. “They see funds taken from agencies. More people are paying attention. It’s necessary to show up everywhere. I hear the bill won’t pass as is in the Senate. I am not going to give up or concede defeat.”
Focusing on her own party, Hayes said it’s to its own peril that there’s no reshuffling of the leadership; no new strategy, no new message. “I think the ground is fertile for change. We can’t keep doing more of the same. We can’t be having everything by seniority. People have had enough of that.”
Someone asked if the National Democratic Committee is doing enough to make people more aware of what is happening, such as all the firings of federal workers, increased housing foreclosures and “that ridiculous parade.” Hayes acknowledged a lot of people do not realize how they will be affected and she is trying to remind them. “At some point, it will get to what they care about,” she said.
DOGE, said Hayes, has blown up the whole system of checks and balances. While no one wants to see fraud or abuse in the federal government, Elon Musk went after those who were affecting his business. The system was destabilized by all the firing and hiring.
Hayes said probably the most dangerous aspect is the removal of data from the systems, so many of the reduction claims can’t be proven.
Prompted by a question from Margy Austell, she expressed her deep concern with many of the bills dealing with immigration. “The idea that everyone from other countries is dangerous blows my mind. We have a lot of ‘gotcha’ bills. Republicans say people can be deported without due process. We need to address our borders, but reasonably. We can’t just scoop people up. There will be a series of votes on this. We can’t look at one provision and ignore everything else in the bills.”
Hayes, a former teacher, was appalled with the cuts amounting to $313 billion being made to SNAP, noting one of the aspects of the bill is to lower the age of minors from 18 to 7, so that those with children over that age must meet work requirements. The national debt will be increased by nearly $4 trillion and the most vulnerable people will be harmed, she said. “I don’t see how in 2025 we’re talking about not feeding children.”
When asked, “What can we do about this regime?” Hayes responded, “People can’t stay home in ’26. Protests and town hall meetings are working. The courts are issuing injunctions. Even if it feels like no one is paying attention or not listening, I promise you they are.”
Charlie Castellanos, left, and Allegra Ferri, right, sitting in the HVRHS library to talk about their experiences in the U.S.
“I would say if you are thinking about doing the program, do it because you get out of your comfort zone and learn so many things...” —Charlie Castellanos
Every year, Housatonic Valley Regional High School welcomes foreign exchange students to attend classes through the AFS Intercultural Programs. This school year, two students traveled to Northwest Connecticut to immerse themselves in American life and culture. Allegra Ferri, a 17-year-old from Italy, and 16-year-old Charlie Castellanos from Colombia sat down to reflect on their experience at HVRHS. As the academic year is coming to an end, they shared a few highlights of their time in the U.S. and offered advice to prospective exchange students.
Allegra: “My favorite part of this exchange year was coming here and experiencing an American high school.”
Charlie: “My favorite part is coming to high school and living the American dream and probably going to ski [for the first time].”
Allegra: “I played volleyball in the fall and I really liked it because everyone was so nice. Then during the winter, I was part of the crew for the musical and now I’m doing tennis. I really enjoy it because it’s a good team. I love how American high school has sports and activities after school.”
Charlie: “I did soccer in the fall, which was my favorite. I did the play in the winter and right now I’m doing track and field. We don’t have school sports in Colombia. This is one of the things I’m going to miss the most.”
Allegra: “I would say do it because living in another country is a great experience to grow and improve another language. It improves your skills of being by yourself.”
Charlie: “I would say if you are thinking about doing the program, do it because you get out of your comfort zone and learn so many things like culture, language and it’s just a completely new experience. It will stay with you your entire life.”
Students from Housatonic Valley Regional High School wrote and produced the inaugural edition of HVRHS Today, a new publication by and for students in the Northwest Corner.
This inaugural issue of HVRHS Today marks the first student-led journalism effort at the high school in several years. The program is a collaboration between the Lakeville Journal, the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and the 21st Century Fund.
Anna Gillette, Mia DiRocco, Shanaya Duprey, Madelyn Johnson and Ibby Sadeh volunteered to form the first group of students comprising the staff of the HVRHS Today.
The five girls got to work just before spring break, meeting as a group of reporters for the first time at the Lakeville Journal office in Falls Village on Wednesday, April 9. That night, the team hit the ground running throwing out ideas for their first reporting projects and discussing the basics of gathering news and reporting facts.
In the following weeks, the students gathered weekly every Thursday at the Lakeville Journal office to discuss interviewing, writing and reporting and plan their coverage for the paper. The students took the lead at every turn, choosing which topics they would like to cover and deciding what sources were best for each story.
Anna Gillette, of Lakeville, joined the program out of a passion for research writing and a desire to learn about a potential career path. “I don’t really know what I want to do in the future and I don’t know what career I want to pursue,” Gillette said. “So I think that this is a good opportunity to, kind of, test the waters to see if this is something I would be interested in.”
Gillette contributed reporting on the latest production of the high school’s Unwritten Show, a completely student-led annual production written this year by Sara Huber and co-directed by Huber and Alex Wilbur. Gillette also reported on and profiled the winner of this year’s “Next Top Mountaineer” pageant, a senior named Manny Matsudaira.
Madelyn Johnson, of North Canaan, said she joined the program to hone her writing skills. “My English teacher calls me a ‘stupendously boring writer,’” Johnson said. “There’s not much emotion or anything in my writing. It’s pretty much just fact, fact, fact.” This is a good thing, Johnson said, for Advanced Placement tests, but not necessarily for more creative assignments.
The program pushed Madelyn Johnson out of her comfort zone, something she said her mother has spent her whole life teaching her to appreciate. “My mom has always had me facing my fears,” Johnson said. “Even if I didn’t always like them, I was always sort of forced to try new things. So I’m trying to continue that with the new independence I get as I grow up.”
Johnson profiled the seniors of the HVRHS track team that will be going on to run for their collegiate teams after graduation, and Richie Crane, who won a Sondheim Award for his performance of Old Man Strong in this year’s production of “Urinetown.”
Mia DiRocco, of Cornwall, said she wants to pursue a career in journalism after graduation. “I’m really passionate about politics, and now is a great time for that,” DiRocco said. “And I’m really interested in international relations, linguistics — and I love writing — so, it’s a career that I think encompasses all my interests in one.”
DiRocco focused her reporting on the no-longer-imperiled tennis team and sports involvement at HVRHS in general. Her reporting dug into the benefits of the brand new tennis courts and the efforts required to bring back previously dissolved groups — like the recently reformed cheerleading team.
Ibby Sadeh, of Falls Village, said she expected the program to help her with her social skills. “From the first meeting I definitely thought it could be fun and valuable to learn new skills and build on my social skills,” Sadeh said. “And also help with my writing skills. I’ve only done essays and reflections for class. I haven’t actually written in this form before.”
Sadeh contributed the inaugural reporter’s notebook report, reflecting on this year’s trip to Europe. Sadeh also worked with DiRocco to recap the first year behind the scenes with the Bias Education and Response Team, and with Gillette to produce a Q&A with this year’s foreign exchange students — 17-year-old Allegra Ferri from Italy and 16-year-old Charlie Castellanos from Colombia.
Shanaya Duprey, of North Canaan, like many of her compatriots in the program, wanted to seize an opportunity to improve her writing, but for a career in marine biology. “I’ve always been really interested in animals,” Duprey said. “I’ve found a new passion for the ocean. There’s not a lot of attention on marine conservation so I’d like to do that.” Duprey said style of researched, journalistic work she produced for HVRHS Today could help her in a future career as a scientist writing and submitting grant proposals and research papers.
Duprey focused her reporting over the past six weeks on the 21st Century Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides funding for educational opportunities and scholarships to HVRHS students. Her reporting focused on Silas Tripp, a student at HVRHS that could attend multiple educational engineering camps thanks to money from the 21st Century Fund.
HVRHS Today can be found online at www.lakevillejournal.com/hvrhs-today.
WATERTOWN — Housatonic Valley Regional High School girls lacrosse played Watertown High School for the Western Connecticut Lacrosse Conference championship Wednesday, May 28.
The cold, rainy game went back and forth with three ties and three lead changes. Watertown was ahead when it counted and earned a 6-4 victory to claim the league title.
Under the lights in Watertown, both sides displayed defensive discipline in a hard-fought match. It was the third meeting between these two teams this season and Watertown completed the sweep in the title game.
Watertown scored first in the opening minute. Housatonic quickly evened the score when freshman Annabelle Carden tucked a shot past the goalie on a fast break. The first quarter ended 1-1.
Freshman Annabelle Carden, no. 9, scored the first two goals for HVRHS in the title game May 28.Photo by Riley Klein
HVRHS pulled ahead with another goal from Carden in the second quarter. A few minutes before half time, Watertown tied it up again at 2-2 going into intermission.
Watertown regained the lead in the second half before HVRHS answered with a goal by senior Tessa Dekker. With seconds left in the third quarter, the Warriors went up 4-3.
As the sky darkened and rain intensified in the fourth quarter, Watertown built a lead. They scored twice in a row to start the final period and entered clock-management mode to drain time. Senior Lola Clayton scored once more before time was out and the game ended 6-4.
Housatonic's defense held Watertown to six points in the championship game. Watertown, the number one team in the WCLC, averaged more than 12 goals per game this season.Photo by Riley Klein
The championship’s most valuable player award went to Malia Arline of Watertown. HVRHS had five players chosen to the 2025 all-league team: Lola Clayton, Lou Haemmerle, Mollie Ford, Neve Kline and Georgie Clayton.
“Incredible finals. Incredible game to watch,” said HVRHS Coach Laura Bushey to her team post-game. “You should all be very proud of yourselves.”
“Holding a team to six points is something to be really, really proud of. Especially a team that’s as good as these guys,” said assistant coach Erin Bushey.
HVRHS qualified for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class S lacrosse tournament. The Mountaineers got matched against Wolcott High School in round one May 30. HVRHS won 13-6 and advanced to the second round to play top ranked Lauralton Hall June 3 in Milford.
Lou Haemmerle created offensive opportunities for HVRHS in the league final.Photo by Riley Klein