WATERTOWN – Former state Sen. George Logan is gearing up for the biggest rematch of the year, unanimously winning the Republican Party’s nomination Monday night to take on his bitter rival, the U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes.
After Logan lost to Hayes by less than 1 percentage point in the state’s closest congressional race in 2022, the rematch began to take shape into a highly anticipated battle, with turnout expected to be high in a presidential year.
Since Logan came so close last year, national Republicans have rallied around him and have already traveled to Connecticut to raise vital funds. Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson and Rep. James Comer, a leader in the Republican fight against President Joseph Biden, and his son Hunter, have raised money for Logan in high-profile appearances.
During a roughly seven-minute acceptance speech at Watertown High School, Logan told delegates he had already entered the race against Hayes, a three-term incumbent Democrat.
“You all know I enjoy being on the campaign trail,” Logan told the crowd. “Tonight you cast the first votes in 2024 to reverse the fifth. We’re just getting started. It is time to change the status quo.”
Logan then referred to a white T-shirt with blue lettering that Hayes wore last week when she accepted the Democratic nomination to run against Logan.
“The shirt said, ‘Protect your investment,’” Logan told deputies. “She asked Democrats to protect her, but I’m running for Congress to protect the American Dream.”
Switching to campaign topics, Logan talked about inflation which Republicans have called Biden inflation.
“I wish I could tell all Americans that things are better than they were two years ago,” Logan said. “It’s getting harder and harder to spend a dollar. Americans max out their credit cards. … College tuition costs continue to rise, and President Joe Biden wants to pay off the debt of those who chant “Death to America.” ”
Logan added, “Our border has been in crisis for years and the President, our Commander in Chief, has refused to take executive action. … Every state is now a border state. … The United States can and must do better. … This is America. The land of hope and opportunity.”
Hayes fights back
Knowing the race will be close, Hayes has posted tweets and sent emails to her supporters while asking for campaign money.
“Republicans have named my race among their TOP FIVE targets this cycle,” Hayes wrote in all caps to supporters. “As a Democrat representing a critical swing district, will you support my re-election campaign so we can stand against extremism and Trumpism in the House of Representatives? Trumpism continues to dominate the Republican Party.”
Hayes added: “We can’t let Trumpism win in November. This dangerous ideology will cause our democracy to crumble, our rights to be taken away, and our communities to become weaker than ever. But stopping Trump’s takeover of the House of Representatives depends directly on my re-election as a Frontline Democrat to the House of Representatives.”
The sprawling 5th District stretches from Simsbury to New Britain and from Danbury to Salisbury on the Massachusetts border. The district is so large that it touches cities in four different counties: Litchfield, northern Fairfield, Hartford and New Haven.
Delegates showed enthusiasm for Logan on Monday.
State Rep. Joe Polletta of Watertown nominated Logan, saying he was a key player in supporting the bipartisan 2017 state budget, which passed when the 36-member Senate was tied 18-18.
“George is a doer. He has proven time and time again that he can win,” Polletta said. “He is back to finish the job he started. … Do not worry. Help is on the way. … As George always says, he is no stranger to closing elections.”
Michelle Coelho of Danbury, who is running for Senate in a rematch against Democratic Sen. Julie Kushner, supported the nomination.
“As a mother, I know George will take care of our children,” Coelho said. “Let’s lift the 5th together.”
With no opponents, Logan was nominated by acclamation without a roll call vote and received a standing ovation from hundreds of supporters who filled the hall.
Fundraising
In response to Republican fundraising by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrats not only criticized Johnson but also used his performance in their own fundraising emails from Hayes and the state party. Hayes has been placed in the “Frontline Democrat” category, which includes key, targeted races for establishment parties that Democrats want to protect.
A former two-term senator from the troubled Naugatuck Valley, Logan took pride in working across the aisle in Hartford. That tradition has become less common in deeply polarized Washington, where all Democrats in the House of Representatives, along with eight conservative Republicans, ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year for the first time in American history.
Logan and other candidates were photographed with McCarthy during the Speaker’s fundraising tour in Connecticut two years ago. Two days before McCarthy was ousted in October 2023, Logan said he still preferred the California Republican. Today, Logan strongly supports Johnson, the new chairman who has worked to pass legislation with an often divided Republican Party in which conservatives are led by Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Matt Gaetz of Florida.
Hayes is fighting for her political life. Hayes, a former national teacher of the year, won races for the seat in 2018 and 2020 by 12 points each, while Republicans fared poorly in Connecticut in those cycles when Donald J. Trump was president, before narrowly winning in 2022 achieved.
In addition to appearing as Speaker of the House of Representatives, the candidates are expected to see surrogates on both sides, in the same way that Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to New Britain two years ago to speak with Hayes on stage about abortion rights. The race is also the target of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and both parties are expected to spend millions on the high-stakes race.
Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com
