Chris Shea, the Republican congressional candidate in Connecticut’s 5th District, said he sees an opening with unaffiliated voters which could help him defeat Democratic incumbent Rep. Jahana Hayes, in the general election in November.
Shea remains confident that he will win, even though many political analysts project Hayes will keep the 5th District seat.
“There’s a lot of room to sway people, and a lot of room for people to move,” Shea said.
Shea isn’t the only Connecticut Republican running for Congress.
But several other Republicans and political analysts agree that the 5th District is competitive. This is due in part to voter registration records.
As of 2025, municipalities in the 5th District, like Waterbury, have more unaffiliated voters than registered Democrats or Republicans.
According to the Cook Partisan Voting Index, Hayes’ district doesn’t have as much of an overwhelming advantage for Democratic voter registrations as other parts of the state.
Shea said reaching out to those unaffiliated voters represents one of his best chances at winning.
Shea has also been critical of what he characterized as Hayes’ failures on economic affordability issues. According to Shea, Republicans across the state are unified by that messaging.
But Shea has also used cultural grievances, from trans people’s participation in sports, to stronger immigration enforcement and border security as part of his platform.
“We’re about unity, unifying behind the gubernatorial candidates and everybody down ballot from us, and helping get as many of them across the finish line as we can,” Shea said.
Hayes responded to Shea’s attacks by stating voters are focused on quality of life issues in a statement to Connecticut Public.
“The people of the Fifth District are looking for leaders to address the affordability crisis, cuts to healthcare, endless wars we are engaged in and so many other things,” Hayes said. “I have no comment on the Republican nominee, from what I can see these are the same attacks that have been tried, and were rejected by the voters and failed.”
Shea won a contentious primary, according to previous reporting from the CT Mirror. He has supported much of President Donald Trump’s policies, but says his primary challenger, Jonathan De Barros, spent as much time attacking him and fellow Republicans as he did Democrats.
Mara Suttmann-Lea is a government and international relations professor at Connecticut College. According to them, Republican primary voters reflected internal divisions, even as state Republicans try to minimize the extent of divisions within the party.
“It’s really this question of how do we move beyond, overcome, navigate the tension that is very clearly still there between more establishment Republicans and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party,” Suttmann-Lea said.
Michael Goldstein, a Republican candidate, who is now running against Rep. Jim Himes for the state’s 4th District, has not focused as much on cultural issues as other candidates.
Instead, Goldstein centered his campaign on conventional Republican policies from affordability to helping small businesses.
Goldstein said he is driven by practical concerns not political ideology.
“The grocery bill isn’t Republican or Democratic,” Goldstein said. “Neither is the electric bill. Healthcare costs aren’t partisan. Neither are jobs, infrastructure, housing costs or whether your children can afford to build their lives here.”
But Suttmann-Lea also said the primary didn’t reveal whether Trump-style populism has run its course in Connecticut.
“I don’t think it has anything much to say about the broader trend towards or away from a more MAGA Republican oriented approach,” Suttmann-Lea said.
Ben Proto, who chairs the state’s Republican Party, said one party does have an identity crisis; but Proto said it’s the Democratic Party.
“Are they the party that’s being taken over by DSA, in Connecticut, or are they more traditional Democrats,” Proto said. “I think the answer to that is the former,” Proto said.
This story was first published Aug. 13, 2026 by Connecticut Public.
