Damjan DeNoble, a 40-year-old attorney who works in New Haven, is running against longtime U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro in the 2026 Democratic primary, citing the need for generational change at a time when the party writ large is grappling with such a question.
DeNoble, a first-time candidate who’s a naturalized citizen from former Yugoslavia, filed paperwork Tuesday to run in the 3rd Congressional District and will formally launch his campaign next week with a video and website. DeLauro, who has a leadership spot on a top committee, plans to seek a 19th term in the U.S. House.
DeNoble founded the firm Frontera Labor, which focuses on employment-based immigration like H-2B visas to help businesses with seasonal and temporary work as well as with household employers. DeNoble’s firm was working more on immigration cases during the first Trump administration but chose to pivot after the election, given the expected challenges to the immigration landscape.
He lives in Guilford with his wife and three children.
Given that Connecticut’s 3rd Congressional District is considered a safe seat for Democrats, the primary is seen as the only real opportunity to wage a campaign.
DeLauro, 82, has represented the district for more than three decades and has long roots in New Haven; her parents served in local politics. During her tenure, she rose through the ranks to serve as the chairwoman of the influential House Appropriations Committee when Democrats were in the majority. With Republicans at the helm, she is now the ranking member.
DeNoble didn’t have criticisms of DeLauro specifically but voiced frustrations about the Democratic Party, its response to younger talent and the party’s brand in the wake of the 2024 election.
“While Rosa DeLauro has done a great job for us, I think it’s time to pass the torch,” DeNoble said in an interview, saying that he is seeking generational change. “The Democratic Party has proven itself to be very bad at at that.”
“We’re not going to kowtow to the party,” he said. “I don’t think the party has much left to offer.”
Before entering politics herself, DeLauro served as former Sen. Chris Dodd’s chief of staff and campaign manager. She also served as the executive director for EMILY’s List, a political action committee that helps women who support abortion rights get elected. She first came to Congress in 1991 after a tight race but has been easily reelected ever since.
If DeLauro wins another term and Democrats take back control of the House in 2026, she could reclaim the gavel and serve again as Appropriations Committee chairwoman. In her leadership roles, she helps craft and negotiate spending bills that fund the federal government.
“Rosa intends to run for reelection and welcomes anyone that wants to run for the seat,” DeLauro’s campaign manager Chris Carroll said in response to DeNoble’s run.
For DeNoble, he sees room for changes with a “whole bunch of things that need to be done to bring our democratic system in balance and lower the temperature” in politics. He said he doesn’t believe an octogenarian lawmaker is the best-positioned to accomplish that.
DeNoble is part of a growing number of candidates who are looking to take on sitting members in Connecticut in 2026. Four of the five members of the state’s congressional delegation now have at least one primary challenger. Some of those incumbents didn’t have primary challengers in their last campaigns, including DeLauro.
Ruth Fortune, a 37-year-old mayoral appointee on the Hartford Board of Education, filed last week to run against U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, in the primary. And U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, and U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th District, also recently gained primary challengers in their races.
Debate over politicians’ age and length of service hit a fever pitch during the 2024 election with former President Joe Biden, who ultimately abandoned his efforts to seek a second term. Those discussions are ongoing as Democrats consider their party’s future.
DeNoble said he wants to see a system that isn’t based as much on seniority. Typically, openings for committee leadership go to the most senior members on that panel.
He cited some frustration that U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York lost an internal vote to become the leading Democrat on the House Oversight Committee to a more senior member, U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly of Maryland. Connolly ultimately stepped down when his cancer worsened, and after his death, the role was filled by a younger congressman over a more seasoned member.
He called the campaign of Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist who defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary for New York City mayor, “super fascinating.” But that sentiment mostly extended to his campaign’s strategy around video and social media, something DeNoble believes he can replicate in his own race.
“Our campaign strength is going to be media,” DeNoble said.
Aside from generational change, DeNoble’s reasons for running are personal. He said he worries what the future will look like for his young children, including concerns over college affordability. “That’s what really moved me,” he said.
For her part, DeLauro recently reflected on her lengthy career in Congress and the future. During her interview as part of the Connecticut Mirror’s “In the Room” series, DeLauro was asked about the frustration among some Americans that members of Congress are serving in office for too long.
DeLauro views her long tenure and influence as a benefit — and something that doesn’t happen overnight. She believes relationships are at the heart of her job and argued that it took time to earn trust from Republicans and Democrats. She said that mutual respect was particularly helpful when it came to work on the federal child tax credit.
“I believe this, and it might sound very self-serving, but I do have the trust of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. They’ll know that I’m not trying to take them down a wrong road, or hurt them in some way, that I’m doing something that I think can be beneficial overall,” DeLauro said at the June event.
“That doesn’t happen in one year, two years, even five years. It happens over a period of time to get to know you and what you are about that,” DeLauro said. “That’s not to say that the time comes when you should say, ‘I’ve had a good run.'”
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.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
