Republicans bested Democrats in 16 cities and towns in the November elections this year to control 102 of 169 of them in Connecticut.
All the polls right now are lining up on behalf of the Republicans and Joe Biden, even though he’s not on the ticket, people nevertheless will identify the president with the larger party,” Gary Rose said in an interview with NBC Connecticut. The Sacred Heart Political Science Professor says things are looking good for the Republican Party in next year’s midterm elections.
“I do think that Logan could be a very viable candidate in that race,” Rose said former state Senator George Logan will be the Republicans’ best shot at a seat.
“I am a proud Connecticut republican.” George Logan wants to become the first Connecticut GOP candidate to win a congressional race in 16 years. Logan, a senator for two terms in a Democratic district, will try to unseat U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th District, the first black woman elected to Congress from Connecticut in 2018, and one of the first two in New England.
(Picture by Mark Pazniokas, CT Mirror)
Logan served as a member of the Connecticut State Senate representing Connecticut’s 17th district in 2016, upsetting 24-year incumbent Democrat Joseph Crisco. In 2018, he was reelected after a recount over labor union activist Jorge Cabrera, but was defeated by Cabrera in a rematch in 2020.
Logan is also looking to be the first Latino/African American to be elected to Congress to represent Connecticut’s 5th congressional district. The 52-year old from Ansonia was born and raised in New Haven, and is the son of Guatemalan immigrants who had roots in Jamaica. “My family sought what millions of others had — the chance to grow a family and build a better life in America,” he said in an interview with CT Mirror. An engineer and community liaison executive with Aquarion, Logan believes that running for Congress is the way to go because the dream can’t end with him. He wants his children and future generations to have the opportunity to reach their full potential in life.
“The status quo isn’t working for the people of Connecticut and it’s not working in Washington, D.C. either,” said Logan. He believes that breaking barriers and having representation in Congress is critically important to having a voice and effecting positive change, not just for the Latino community, but for everyone.
Logan is running on a platform that includes making affordability a major priority. “Childcare cost is going through the roof and I want to be able to pass legislative laws that will help families with that cost.”
He believes the public is affected by control costs, from the gas in cars to the groceries on the table. “Congress is not solving that problem, only making it worse, with out-of-control spending and higher taxes,” said Logan.
Education is also a big deal to Logan as there are mandates that are coming from both the state and federal levels. “I think we need more flexibility at the local level.”
Logan believes that law enforcement is getting hamstrung about what they can do and that they are important to have in the schools. “Crime is everywhere, why is that?” Logan asks. “I believe that nobody is supporting law enforcement the way that they should.”
With this, he wants to bring sensibility to Washington as this seems to be an ongoing issue. He believes that we don’t need to support the people who support the chaos as he believes that other politicians seem to be doing. “I believe that is what Hayes is currently doing. She is supporting Nancy Pelosi 100 percent and how does someone do that?” Logan asks.
“People in these communities want opportunities and jobs, not a lifetime of government handouts,” he criticizes Hayes for supporting policies in line with the speaker of the House rather than the people who voted for her.
The 5th congressional district made up of 41 towns is located in the western part of the state spanning across parts of Fairfield, Litchfield, New Haven and Hartford counties. The district runs from Meriden and New Britain in central Connecticut, westward to Danbury and the surrounding Housatonic Valley, encompassing the Farmington Valley, Upper Naugatuck River Valley, and the Litchfield Hills. The district also includes most of Waterbury.
In Waterbury, Hispanics-Latinos grew by 15 percent. Meriden, Danbury, and New Britain have seen significant growth of the community as well.
Despite the Hispanic-Latino population gains, Logan said, “There are no Latinos state-wide in the district and definitely no Latinos to represent CT in Washington.”
As a state senator, Logan voted against raising the minimum wage, the creation of a paid family and medical leave program, and a police accountability law passed in response to the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. He called his political approach “radical sensibility.”
Cover Photo Credit: George Logan For Congress
