Connecticut's 5th congressional district is a

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. Located in the western part of the state and spanning across parts of Fairfield, Litchfield,

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, and Hartford Counties, the district runs from Meriden and

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

in central Connecticut, westward to

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

and the surrounding

Housatonic Valley The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...

, encompassing the

Farmington Valley The Farmington Valley is located along the western boundary of Hartford County in Connecticut, bordering Litchfield County immediately to the west. It is defined by the Farmington River, which runs through it. Physiographically, the valley is lo ...

, Upper Naugatuck River Valley, and the

Litchfield Hills The Northwest Hills (also known as the Litchfield Hills or Northwest Highlands) are a geographic region of the U.S. state of Connecticut located in the northwestern corner of the state. It is roughly coterminous with the boundaries of Litchfiel ...

. The district also includes most of

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...

. The district is currently represented by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Jahana Hayes Jahana Hayes (née Flemming: born March 8, 1973) is an American educator and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. The district, once represented by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, comprises much of the state's northwestern ...

. With a

Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...

rating of D+2, it is the least Democratic district in Connecticut, a state with an all-Democratic congressional delegation.

History

Historically Republican, the 5th congressional district has been trending Democratic since 2004.

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

carried the district with 49.3% of the vote, a margin of 1,112 votes in the 2004 presidential election.

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

carried the district in 2008 with 56.3% of the vote and in 2012 with 53.5% of the vote. The current 5th congressional district was created in 2002 due to reapportionment following the

2000 U.S. Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

. Due to slow population growth, Connecticut lost a seat and the old

-based 5th district was merged with the New Britain-based 6th district. However, the merged district contained more of the old 6th's territory. From 1964 to 1990 the 5th congressional district included many towns in

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,921. ...

which are now located in the 4th congressional district, such as Wilton, Monroe, Ridgefield, and

Shelton Shelton may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire * Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire * Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bed ...

. It also included the lower

Naugatuck River Valley The Naugatuck River Valley is the watershed area of the Naugatuck River in the western part of Connecticut. The Naugatuck Valley straddles parts of Litchfield County, New Haven, and Fairfield counties. The Route 8 corridor and Waterbury Branch ...

towns of Ansonia,

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, Seymour, and

Naugatuck Naugatuck is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury and includes the communities of Union City on the east side of the river, wh ...

which are now in the 3rd congressional district. In the early 20th century the 5th congressional district included Waterbury, Litchfield County, and the Naugatuck Valley. It did not include any portion of Fairfield or Hartford counties and did not include the City of Meriden.

Towns in the district

The district includes the following towns: Fairfield County –

Bethel Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...

, Brookfield,

New Fairfield New Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,579 at the 2020 census. New Fairfield is one of five towns that surround Candlewood Lake, the largest lake in Connecticut. The town is located nor ...

, Newtown, and

Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name) ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a tank Sherman may also refer to: Places United St ...

. Hartford County – Avon,

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, Canton,

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

, Plainville, and

Simsbury Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 24,517 at the 2020 census. The town was incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. History Early history At the beginning of the 17th century, th ...

. Litchfield County –

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

, Bridgewater,

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, Goshen, Harwinton,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Litchfield,

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

, New Milford,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

North Canaan North Canaan is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,211 at the 2020 census. The town center is still called "Canaan", being the main town center of the old town of Canaan prior to North Canaan splitting o ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, Roxbury,

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

Sharon Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...

, Thomaston, Torrington (part),

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...

, and

Woodbury Woodbury may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Woodbury Glacier, a glacier on Graham Land, British Antarctic Territory Australia * Woodbury, Tasmania, a locality in Australia England * Woodbury, Bournemouth, an area in Dorset *Woodbury, East Devo ...

. New Haven County –

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, Meriden, Middlebury, Southbury,

(part), and Wolcott.

Voter registration

Recent presidential elections

Recent elections

List of members representing the district

District organized from

Connecticut's at-large congressional district During the first twenty-four Congresses (from 1789 to 1837), Connecticut elected all its Representatives in Congress from a single multi-member Connecticut at-large congressional district. Connecticut elected a varying number of representatives ...

in 1837.

Historical district boundaries