Connecticut's 5th congressional district is a

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...

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 so ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

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

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, and Hartford Counties, the district runs from Meriden and

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in central Connecticut, westward to Danbury and the surrounding Housatonic Valley, encompassing the Farmington Valley, Upper Naugatuck River Valley, and the Litchfield Hills. The district also includes most of

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

. The district is currently represented by Democrat Jahana Hayes. With a

Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated PVI or CPVI, is a measurement of how partisan a U.S. congressional district or U.S. state is. This partisanship is indicated as lean towards either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, com ...

rating of D+3, it is the least Democratic district in Connecticut, a state with an all-Democratic congressional delegation.

History

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. 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, South Carolina {{Geodis, uscounty ...

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

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, Ridgefield, and Shelton. It also included the lower Naugatuck River Valley towns of Ansonia,

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, Seymour, and Naugatuck which are now in the 3rd congressional district. The current 5th congressional district was created in 2002 due to

reapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionment ...

following the 2000 U.S. census. 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. Although 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 served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

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 was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

carried the district in 2008 with 56.3% of the vote and in 2012 with 53.5% of the vote.

Composition

For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), Connecticut's 5th district contains portions of four planning regions and 40 municipalities.https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST09/CD118_CT05.pdf Capitol Planning Region (6) : Avon, Canton, Farmington,

, Plainville, Simsbury Naugatuck Valley Planning Region (10) :

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Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, Middlebury,

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, Southbury, Thomaston,

(part; also 3rd), Watertown, Wolcott, Woodbury Northwest Hills Planning Region (16) : Burlington,

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Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, Goshen, Harwinton,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, Litchfield, Morris,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, North Canaan, Roxbury,

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

, Torrington (part; also

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) Warren, Washington South Central Connecticut Planning Region (1) : Meriden Western Connecticut Planning Region (7) : Bridgewater, Brookfield, Danbury (part; also 4th), New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Sherman

History

Composition

Voter registration

Recent election results from statewide races

Recent elections

List of members representing the district

See also

References

Further reading