Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District, in the southwestern corner of the state, has seen somewhat of a political transformation over the past two decades.
The district was a Republican stronghold for 40 years and was represented by more liberal Republicans. But that changed in 2008 when Jim Himes first ran and flipped the seat during the first election of Barack Obama. Himes defeated Chris Shays, a moderate Republican who would often buck his own party.
Shays was the last Republican from Connecticut to serve in Congress.
Since then, the 4th District has been reliably blue and is expected to stay that way after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Himes has some theories about what happened, pointing to the shifting dynamics within a political party and not so much the electorate itself.
“The nature of the district hasn’t changed that much. The Republican Party has changed radically, and so my district is in the category of educated districts in which independent voters and even some Republican voters have abandoned the Republican Party. And we started to see this, by the way, under George W. Bush,” Himes said, noting that was when the GOP became more socially conservative. (Members of the Bush political dynasty have strong ties to Greenwich and the 4th District.)
While his district’s voting patterns changed over the last two decades, Himes said other places around the country, like pockets of New York City, are drifting leftward among a younger electorate.
“It’s important to know that the change in the 4th Congressional District is like the change that you’ve seen in other older, affluent, educated districts,” he continued. “And I tell people someday, if the Republican Party ever goes back to being the Republican Party of Mitt Romney or John McCain, this will be a lot less blue of an area.”
Himes faces a rematch on Nov. 3 from Republican Michael Goldstein. Independent Party nominee Benjamin Wesley, a mechanical engineer, will also be on the ballot, running for a second time.
It’s the third time that Goldstein, a doctor and attorney, has run for the seat. He lost the Republican primary in 2022 but became the nominee in 2024, eventually losing to Himes. This year, he was the party-endorsed candidate and won the Republican primary in August.
In his own assessment of the district, Goldstein said there’s “probably a larger Democrat presence in the 4th District than there was” and noted it’s economically diverse. He also said Democrats have been more organized and better-funded than Republicans in terms of running campaigns — a sentiment other GOP candidates running for federal office in Connecticut have shared.
Connecticut’s southwestern corner is home to many commuters who work in New York. The district includes some of the wealthiest pockets of the state but also has a massive wealth gap.
Goldstein said he decided to run again despite the growing polarization in U.S. politics. He also raised concerns about more candidates who are affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America.
“One of the things I notice is that I think the society is becoming much more polarized, and I think that that’s a bad trend,” Goldstein said. “People can have their political differences, but the polarization I think is just bad for our democracy, and it just paralyzed things.”
Goldstein said he worries about the leftward pull of the Democratic Party, especially if it takes control of the House majority next year. He called socialism a “failed ideology.”
If Himes wins another term and Democrats take back the House, the congressman hopes to become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee next year. He has served as ranking member for the past three years of a more secretive panel that oversees the intelligence community. Because of that role, he has talked about election security and efforts to undermine faith in the midterms.
His job as the ranking member places him in the “Gang of Eight,” a group that consists of the Republican and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate plus the chairs and ranking members of both intelligence committees. Because of that, he typically gets a heads-up on major military actions, though that wasn’t the case with Venezuela and Iran.
The Intelligence Committee has oversight over U.S. intelligence agencies as well as some issues concerning the Pentagon and other government agencies. As a potential chairman, Himes has previewed oversight of the Trump administration as a main objective.
“What I can talk about is an effort we’re going to make to try to shine a light on some of the entities who have bent a knee to Donald Trump’s demands,” Himes said, referring to law firms, universities and corporations that do business with the intelligence community. “We’re going to shine a light on instances where contractors and others did the administration’s bidding, either illegally or, if not illegally, at least in ways that raise pretty ugly conflicts of interest.”
He also serves on the House Financial Services Committee.
As a physician, healthcare is a priority issue for Goldstein. He cited concerns over Democratic policy proposals like “Medicare for All,” arguing that healthcare needs more competition and choice. And as he has in past campaigns, he raised concerns about high energy prices amid debate over a natural gas pipeline that could serve the state and frustration over I-95 becoming a “parking lot.”
Goldstein has said he wants to see an expansion of trade schools that could provide “AI-proof” jobs and a requirement that universities disclose to applicants the salary ranges of graduates with each type of degree.
On artificial intelligence, he believes the federal government has a role to play in protecting Americans from misuse and harm but said they need to find a balance on regulation to keep up with other countries.
Himes sees “perennial issues” that come up every two years in his reelection races like housing, infrastructure and cost of living. On the latter, he said there’s an urgency — especially if his party regains the majority — for Democrats to follow through on their rhetoric around affordability and balance that out with their opposition to the Trump administration’s actions.
He said the “21st Century ROAD to Housing Act” — the bipartisan bill to ease the construction of new homes — was a step in the right direction during this Congress but noted it’s “not transformative” and said more work will need to be done on housing.
Himes also highlighted the federal money from the infrastructure law passed during the Biden administration that’s going toward the ongoing WALK Bridge replacement project in Norwalk to help the Amtrak and the Metro North systems.
But Goldstein bemoaned that money from major federal legislation passed in recent years has prioritized Hartford and should have been spread around the state more.
Himes, Goldstein and Wesley squared off in a debate last week that was hosted by the League of Women Voters. Himes’ opponents took aim at his record but from opposite sides of the political spectrum.
Wesley, who’s running as an independent, said he wants an economic agenda that mirrors progressive Democratic candidates running for Senate like Angie Nixon in Florida and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. That includes a single-payer healthcare system like “Medicare for All,” free childcare, paid family leave and, on housing, a national freeze on rent and moratoriums on evictions.
Goldstein, meanwhile, blamed the rising costs of healthcare on the Affordable Care Act. He doesn’t support single-payer options and wants to see more competition as a way to lower costs.
Himes touted his record and kept more of the focus on the Trump administration.
The congressman is one of the most prolific fundraisers of the incumbent lawmakers running for reelection and has the largest campaign account of all the Connecticut Democrats: $2.4 million cash on hand.
Goldstein hasn’t been able to keep pace on that front, raising a total of about $59,000 throughout the entire campaign.
Like his fellow Republicans seeking congressional office, Goldstein said he’s not getting much help from the party and doesn’t have the resources for advertising on the airwaves. Some of that, he said, is due to Republicans at the state level focusing heavily on the governor’s race.
“I think that a more engaged Republican Party would probably be much better for the candidates. But this has been this way for a while. I don’t see it changing soon,” Goldstein said. “We’re using our funds to reach people through other means besides the air.”
In-person early voting began Monday, Oct. 19 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 1. The last day to request an absentee ballot is Nov. 2.
