Vice President Harris Will Visit New Britain Amid 5th District Congressional Race

Vice President Kamala Harris took part in a discussion at Central Connecticut State University about reproductive health services while visiting Connecticut.

Political experts think the visit is also intended to increase support for Democratic U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes as the Fifth District Congressional race gets hotter. Politico predicts that it will be a toss-up.

In New Britain, Harris stopped to talk about the steps the Biden administration is taking to protect access to reproductive healthcare. Hayes served as her host.

“When I think about where we are now, as we discussed with some of the leaders who are here in the room, I do believe that we all know that there was a movement on this issue that started generations ago and a milestone in the success of that movement was Roe v. Wade, which was about half a century ago, and it is now incumbent on us as the leaders of this moment to pick up that movement and to do what is necessary to reaffirm, regain and fight for those rights,” Harris said. “And so that’s where we are.”

“We’re seeing the vice president come into the district to shore up Jahana Hayes’ campaign. In the Fifth District, the vice president, although she is not especially more popular than the president, she has some star power and she can generate some interest among the Democratic base, which has to turn out in the Fifth if Jahana Hayes is going to hold on to this seat,” said Scott McLean, Quinnipiac University political science professor.

On Tuesday, George Logan, the Republican challenger to Hayes, participated in a roundtable discussion about safety and crime in New Britain. Republican from Wisconsin and U.S. Representative Bryan Steil joined him.

“They are desperate, right? Because we are surging in the polls. We are surging more importantly in the community and we have the better message,” Logan said.

Logan stated that besides crime, he is also worried about other issues, such as inflation. He also defended his stance on abortion and supported a woman’s right to choose under certain restrictions.

“I will say you don’t go into this work without recognizing that you have to work for it every single time and that’s what I do. I appreciate it. We energize voters and turn out voters. And I expect the same thing to happen this time,” Hayes said.

At this stage of her career, Hayes can’t just rely on her elected status, according to McLean. She also faces some difficult challenges from Democrats both nationally and locally in the Fifth District, which could be very competitive.