Republican George Logan outraised U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes in the final months of 2023, but the Democratic incumbent added to her large cash advantage ahead of what is likely to be another competitive race in Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District.
Logan, a former state senator who narrowly lost to Hayes in 2022, raised more than $420,000 from October through December. During that time, he spent about $60,000, leaving him with about $371,000 left in the bank in the new year.
Hayes, meanwhile, brought in over $282,000 and spent about $171,000 over the last three months of 2023. Without a competitor for much of last year, Hayes was able to amass a large campaign account in her race for a fourth term in Congress.
For the entire year of 2023, she raised a total of nearly $1.2 million. Hayes came into 2024 with a little over $1 million in her campaign account.
Logan announced his campaign in October for the GOP nomination in the hopes of a rematch this fall. He entered the race a few days after the end of the last quarterly fundraising deadline.
“We know in order to defeat the status quo in Connecticut and in Washington, D.C., we need strong grassroots and financial support,” Logan said in a statement about his fundraising.
“Our campaign has inspired people from across Connecticut and the country to get involved, and I couldn’t be more fired up to keep our momentum going strong to bring common sense to Congress and get our country moving in the right direction,” he added.
Logan — who works for Aquarion, a water company owned by Eversource — lost to Hayes in November 2022 by 2,004 votes. Logan could face Michelle Botelho, who previously ran for Congress, in the Republican primary in August if she qualifies. During the same fundraising period, Botelho raised about $6,500.
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 another term. Prior to her time in Congress, 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. The 2022 race saw upwards of $12 million in spending between both parties and outside groups.
“I will do everything in my power to beat him yet again, so that [former President Donald] Trump and dysfunctional House Republicans do not have an ally in the district that I call home,” Hayes said in a statement after Logan’s campaign announcement last fall.
Every federal lawmaker from Connecticut was required to file campaign finance reports for the last quarter of 2023.
All five members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation are up for reelection, while on the Senate side, only Murphy faces another election. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., won another six-year term in 2022.
Murphy, who is running for a third term in the Senate, raised about $1.6 million in the last quarter, bringing his 2023 fundraising total to about $8 million.
Republicans have not won a Senate seat since 1982, when Lowell Weicker won reelection.
Connecticut’s other House members represent safer Democratic seats than in the 5th District. All of them are so far expected to run for reelection in November.
In the 1st District, U.S. Rep. John Larson raised about $187,000 in the last fundraising quarter. He has represented his East Hartford-based district since 1999.
In the 2nd District, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney brought in around $150,000 for the last three months of 2023. He has represented his eastern Connecticut district since 2007.
In the 3rd District, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro raised about $194,000 between last October through December. She has represented her New Haven-based district since 1991.
In the 4th District, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes took in around $194,000 for the final three months of 2023. In 2008, he won his first race for Congress, unseating the last Republican from Connecticut to serve in the U.S. House, former Rep. Chris Shays.
The Connecticut Mirror/Connecticut Public Radio federal policy reporter position is made possible, in part, by funding from the Robert and Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation.
Correction: This story has been updated with information about the Republican primary. A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that Logan was the only Republican running in the 5th District. Michelle Botelho is also running for the GOP nomination.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
