Democratic incumbent Jahana Hayes declared victory in the race for the 5th Congressional District on Wednesday afternoon outside Waterbury City Hall. At 1 p.m., with all the votes reported, she held an 11-point lead over Republican challenger David X. Sullivan.
Sullivan conceded the race earlier Wednesday. In a statement on his Facebook page, he said “while I am personally disappointed in the outcome of the election last night, I respect the results and offer my congratulations to Congresswoman Jahana Hayes.”
Both candidates offered messages of intent to work together to overcome division in the country. While Hayes won by a wide margin, Connecticut’s 5th District leans further right than much of the rest of the state.
The presidential race, although still undecided when she spoke, had some ugly truths to reveal, Hayes said. “I think it reinforced the idea that we have a divided nation, and we’re gonna have to do a lot of work to put things back together. So to try to find some common ground in the middle is going to be a very difficult task -- I think I’m up for that,” she said.
Hayes encouraged all Americans to support the idea that all votes should be counted. She worried that if some politicians declared victory before all votes were tallied, it would leave a dangerous legacy.
Despite the division, Hayes reiterated that she will represent all members of her district.
“I recognize that there are some people who either I am not appealing to or don’t feel represented by me, or feel like there’s no way I could understand their issues,” Hayes said, “and I’m going to work really hard to make sure that even if they disagree with me, they know that I, too, represent them.”
This will be Hayes’ second term as a congresswoman. She is the first Black woman to serve in Connecticut’s congressional delegation.
Ali Oshinskie is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Ali covers the Naugatuck River Valley for Connecticut Public Radio. Email her at aoshinskie@ctpublic.org and follow her on Twitter at @ahleeoh.
