5th District debate
Five takeaways from the first debate between Rep. Hayes, GOP challenger Sullivan
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, pictured at right, and Republican challenger David X. Sullivan laid out different views on taxes, the COVID-19 crisis and health care policy during their first debate Monday night.
The 90-minute debate was conducted remotely due to the pandemic. Moderated by League of WomenVoters chapters in Northern Fairfield and Litchfield counties and engineered by media arts students at Western Connecticut State University, the forum also featured third-party candidate Bruce Walczak.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes and Republican challenger David X. Sullivan laid out different views on taxes, the COVID-19 crisis and health care policy during their first debate Monday night.
The 90-minute debate was conducted remotely due to the pandemic. Moderated by League of Women Voters chapters in Northern Fairfield and Litchfield counties and engineered by media arts students at Western Connecticut State University, the forum also featured third-party candidate Bruce Walczak.
Where do the candidates stand on some of the top issues facing voters in the 5th Congressional District?
Political philosophy: Sullivan, a career prosecutor whorecently retired from the U.S. attorney’s office, sought to portray Hayes as a political insider whose progressive philosophy is out-of-touch with the people of the sprawling district, which encompasses most of the western half of Connecticut.
“I’ve driven personally to the 41 towns [of the district], I’ve been talking to first selectmen and mayors and representatives who have never seen or heard from Jahana Hayes,” Sullivan said. Hayes, a former teacher who was first elected in 2018, rejected Sullivan’s effort to paint her as a radical who is far to the left of the district’s voters.
“I unify people,” she said. “I’m somebody who is going to consider all perspectives, listen to what people have to say and consider that as part of the conversation. I’m a collaborator.”
COVID-19 relief: The two candidates have a fundamentally different view of the role the federal government should play in stabilizing the economy and helping individuals and businesses hurt by the pandemic. Hayes believes Congress ought to pass the Heroes