CORNWALL – Speaking before a crowd gathered in a large barn in Cornwall, Saturday, May 9, U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes said preserving democracy is the country’s most urgent priority as she campaigns for a fifth term representing Connecticut’s 5th District.
Introducing Hayes, Cornwall First Selectman Gordon M. Ridgway criticized leadership in Washington and urged attendees to remain politically engaged.
“America is going backward due to the reckless lack of leadership in Washington,” Ridgway said. “Jahana is not a career politician; she’s always been here for us. The whole country needs her leadership. It’s time to do our part to uphold democracy.”
Hayes accused Republicans aligned with President Donald Trump of undermining democratic norms through tactics such as gerrymandering and political intimidation.
“They can’t win on policies so they change the rules,”Hayes said, citing the redrawing of voting districts as an example.
She also said she has witnessed Republicans threatened with primary challenges if they dissent from Trump’s agenda.
Hayes, a former Waterbury teacher who was named the 2016 National Teacher of the Year while working at John F. Kennedy High School, said feeding children remains one of her top priorities.
“I have colleagues who don’t,” she said, indirectly calling out politicians who do not have the same priorities.
Hayes said she is particularly concerned about special education and cuts to the Department of Education, where she said most of the employees have lost their jobs.
“The idea of not educating all children is egregious to me,” she said.
Using the event as a forum to hear from constituents, Hayes fielded questions about the nation’s increasingly divisive political climate.
“It’s not about Democrats and Republicans,” she said.
“The Republican Party is operating like a cult,” she added, noting that many are voting against their own interests to follow party lines.
“I fear when we take the government back – not if, but when – we’re going to find it will be worse than expected.”
Asked whom she aligns with in the Democratic Party, Hayes said she has several friends’ groups, ranging from James Clyburn to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She has a high level of curiosity and is invited to join many circles, earning respect as a moderate.
With discussion turning to national flashpoints, including the war in Iran and plans for a White House ballroom, Hayes said, “All the chaos and confusion are by design. We have to be working on all cylinders and messaging.”
Regarding state politics, she said Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District has long been a Republican target.
Hayes argued that gerrymandering efforts targeting the 5th District are aimed at diluting the voting coalition that elected her.
She concluded by encouraging Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters to become engaged in the political process.
“We can’t do anything if we can’t win,” Hayes said.
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