Jahana Hayes

Jahana Hayes (née Flemming: born March 8, 1973) is an American 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 portion, including New Britain, Danbury, and Waterbury. A member of the Democratic Party, Hayes is the first Black woman and Black Democrat to represent Connecticut in Congress. She is also the first African American woman from a low income background to be elected to Congress. She was recognized as the National Teacher of the Year in 2016.

Early life and education

Hayes was born on March 8, 1973, in Waterbury, Connecticut, and grew up in public housing projects in that city. She earned an associate degree at Naugatuck Valley Community College and a bachelor's degree at Southern Connecticut State University. In 2012, Hayes earned a master's degree in curriculum and instruction at the University of Saint Joseph. In 2014, she earned her Sixth-Year Diploma from the University of Bridgeport School of Education.

Teaching career

Hayes's first job was at the Southbury Training School in Connecticut. She went on to teach government and history at John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury. She also chaired the Kennedy SOAR Review Board, a "school within a school" that provided advanced instruction for gifted students, and was a co-adviser of HOPE, a student-service club at Kennedy. In 2015, she was John F. Kennedy Teacher of the Year and then the Waterbury School District Educator of the Year. In 2016 she was named National Teacher of the Year.

This award won Hayes widespread media attention. "I really think that we need to change the narrative, change the dialogue about what teaching is as a profession," Hayes told ''The Washington Post''. "We've spent a lot of time in the last few years talking about the things that are not working. We really need to shift our attention to all the things that are working." Appearing on Ellen DeGeneres's talk show, Hayes said she taught her students "kindness" and "community service." After receiving the award, she addressed the annual meeting of the National Education Association. "I am so grateful to be a member of the NEA," she said, praising it for preventing the exploitation of the "altruistic character trait that all teachers possess".

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

In 2018, Hayes ran for the Democratic nomination for Connecticut's 5th congressional district. Her difficult upbringing was a cornerstone of her campaign. “I know what it’s like to go to bed to gunshots outside,” she told an audience at a candidate forum. “I know what it’s like to wake up in the morning to a dead body in the hallway."

Hayes won the primary on August 14, beating Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman, who was endorsed by the Connecticut Democratic Party, 62% to 38%. In the November general election, she faced Republican Manny Santos, a former mayor of Meriden.

Hayes supports public education and teachers' unions, and has credited her "union brothers and sisters" with playing a role in her success. In the 2018 election, she was endorsed by the Connecticut Education Association. Her candidacy was also supported by the Connecticut Working Families Party (CTWFP), with CTWFP state director Lindsay Farrell saying that her primary victory "demonstrates the value in electing and mobilizing teachers who will fight for public education, stand up to ducation SecretaryBetsy DeVos, and advocate the importance of collective bargaining."

On November 6, Hayes declared victory, becoming the first black Democratic House member from Connecticut. She and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts's 7th congressional district are the first women of color to be elected to Congress from New England.

2020

Hayes was reelected, defeating the Republican nominee, former federal prosecutor David X. Sullivan, with 55.1% of the vote.

2022

Hayes ran for reelection in 2022 and faced the most competitive election of her career. She narrowly defeated Republican state Senator George Logan in the general election.

She was questioned during the campaign about the ethics of hiring two of her children to work and receive a salary as campaign staffers.

2024

In 2024, Hayes once again defeated Republican nominee George Logan in a rematch of the 2022 election.

Tenure

Hayes was sworn into office on January 3, 2019, as the U.S. representative for Connecticut’s 5th congressional district. During the 116th Congress, she was appointed to the Education and Labor and Agriculture committees. In December 2019, she voted for the first impeachment of Donald Trump. A year later, she voted for Trump's second impeachment following the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

After the 2020 elections, Hayes was reported to be on the shortlist for Secretary of Education in the incoming Biden administration, though the role eventually went to Connecticut State Commissioner of Education Miguel Cardona. At the start of her second term, Hayes circulated a letter to the Republican House leadership urging it not to place Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on the House Education Committee, citing Greene's claims that mass school shootings, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which occurred in Hayes’s district, were false flag operations.

In May 2023, during her third term, Hayes was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House. The following month, during the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearings regarding H.R. 734, a federal trans and intersex sports ban, she criticized the bill, stating "82% of trans youth have considered suicide and 40% have attempted suicide. This hearing, this legislation, this conversation further puts a target on the backs of students who are in the scariest times of their lives."

In 2025, Hayes was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.

Committee assignments

Hayes's committee assignments for the 119th Congress include:
* Committee on Agriculture
** Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry
** Subcommittee on Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture, and Horticulture (ranking member)
* Committee on Education and Workforce
** Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education
** Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions

Caucus memberships

Hayes's caucus memberships include:
* New Democrat Coalition
* Congressional Black Caucus (Educating for the Future Task Force, chair)
* Gun Violence Prevention Task Force (deputy whip)
* Friends of Ireland Caucus (co-chair)
* College Affordability Caucus (chair)

Personal life

Hayes is married to her husband, Milford, who is a police detective. They live in Wolcott, north of Waterbury, with their four children.

Electoral history

See also

* List of African-American United States representatives
* Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

External links

Congresswoman Jahana Hayes
official U.S. House website

Jahana Hayes for U.S. Congress
campaign website

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Jahana
1973 births
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
21st-century African-American educators
21st-century African-American politicians
21st-century African-American women politicians
21st-century American women politicians
21st-century American educators
21st-century American women educators
African-American members of the United States House of Representatives
African-American people in Connecticut politics
African-American schoolteachers
Schoolteachers from Connecticut
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut
Female members of the United States House of Representatives
Living people
People from Wolcott, Connecticut
National Education Association people
Politicians from Waterbury, Connecticut
Southern Connecticut State University alumni
University of Bridgeport alumni
University of Saint Joseph (Connecticut) alumni
Women in Connecticut politics
21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives