Logan Opens First Battle Station To Flip Democrat Congressional Seat

By Scott Benjamin

FARMINGTON -- On an unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon just days before the calendar officially turns to spring, more than 300 Republican faithful take photos with their iPhones and shout "George . . . George. . . George" outside a commercial building in one of the larger suburbs in Connecticut's Fifth Congressional District.

In a five-minute address, Republican congressional candidate George Logan says initially his campaign thought they would only get "60 or 70 people" to come for the grand opening of a Battle Station.

State Rep. Patrick Callahan (R-108) of New Fairfield said. "George brings a lot of excitement. People appreciate that he goes to everything and is everywhere."

Logan, a former two-term state senator who lives in Meriden, proudly announces that it is the first National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Battle Station to be "dedicated [this year] to flipping a Democratic seat." Among those on the dais standing behind him is state Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield.

In a nine-minute address, the featured guest, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said, "This is the biggest Battle Station ribbon-cutting that we've had."

Democrat Jahana Hayes of Wolcott initially captured the seat in 2018. However, Logan came within about 2,000 votes in 2022 when the NRCC established a cultural center in nearby New Britain.

Johnson of Louisiana, who became the Speaker last fall, came to raise money at a nearby reception for Logan and help open the Battle Station.

Longtime Republican State Central Committee member John Morris of Litchfield said, "We haven't seen an event like this since Ronald Reagan came in [to Waterbury] for [then congressional candidate] John Rowland in 1984."

He said of the NRCC's commitment to Logan, "They are delivering. To have this kind of event in March is indicative of that. I haven't seen this energy level in quite a while."

Savannah Viar, deputy communications director for the NRCC, said Farmington was chosen for the Battle Station because it is connected to the Farmington Valley and is "right off" Interstate-84 "and near New Britain." She said it will largely be dedicated to canvassing neighborhoods and conducting telephone banks.

Hayes prevailed with at least 54 percent of the votes in 2022 in Farmington and nearby Canton, Avon and Simsbury. Republicans apparently think they can flip those towns in 2024.

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, the master of ceremonies at the Battle Station opening, said having the cultural center in her city two years ago was a boost to Logan's campaign.

"A lot of it is knocking on doors," she said.

In what has been a swing district since the 1972 election, the Democrats have garnered each race since 2006 - in most instances because they annexed a plurality of at least 15,000 votes combined in the five cities - Waterbury, Danbury, New Britain, Meriden and Torrington.

However, Hayes only had about an 8,100-vote edge in the cities in 2022, but captured 21 of the 41 municipalities in the district, including suburbs that not long ago were in the Republican column. In 2012, running for an open seat, Democrat Elizabeth Esty of Cheshire only captured 10 municipalities to garner the first of her three terms.

CT News Junkie columnist Susan Bigelow wrote in 2022 that Logan would have prevailed if he had won in any of these three suburbs: Newtown - in the metro Danbury area - Cheshire - in the metro Waterbury area - or Farmington.

In a recent interview with Patch.com, Democratic State Central Committee member Audrey Blondin of Goshen said that she is "100 percent" certain that U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Hartford), who is seeking a third term this year, will have a vast canvassing operation across the state to assist candidates, including Hayes. Blondin credited Murphy's Fight Back CT operation in 2018 as being a factor in the Democrats winning the governor's race that year and increasing the number of seats they held in the General Assembly.

Jeff Desmarais of Watertown, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for a third consecutive time in the 32nd state Senate District, said in a recent interview with Patch.com that Hayes appears to have become more galvanized since the 2022 election.

Justin Potter of Kent, the likely Democratic nominee in the 30th state Senate District, said in an interview with Patch.com, "Just two weeks ago I was with her at a fund-raiser and you can see that she works a room well and is energetic in the way she interacts with people."

Logan has noted that Hayes outspent him "three to one" in the 2022 election. He outraised her in the final quarter of 2023. However, Lisa Hagen of CT Mirror reported that Hayes entered 2024 with a little more than $1 million cash on hand.

Former U.S. Rep. Jim Maloney (D-5) of Danbury, who held the seat from 1997 to 2003, has said that as a challenger you need to raise at least 80 percent of the incumbent's total to be in a position to win. Maloney has said that the exception to that is if the political tide is running against the incumbent.

Morris said he is not sure that if Logan will be able to equal Hayes' fund-raising, but his collections will be "much better and more competitive than two years ago."

Regarding the top of the ticket, no Republican presidential candidate has taken the Fifth District since George H.W. Bush in 1992. Typically, Democrats do better in the presidential election yerars than in the midterms.

Will presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, who lost the district in 2016 and 2020, be a help to Logan?

Some of the crowd wore red Trump caps and at one point Brookfield Selectman Tara Carr held a large Trump re-election banner.

However, even though Trump easily defeated a diverse field of candidates for the nomination this winter and will likely be on the ballot for a third successive presidential election, neither Logan or Johnson mentioned his name in their speeches.

Regarding whether Trump's presence will aid Logan, Morris commented, "In some areas, yes." He cited Trump's record on securing the Mexican border and maintaining low inflation.

"One of the biggest advantages for us is how much more things cost at the grocery store" since Democratic President Joe Biden took office three years ago, he added.

Johnson said, "People are struggling to make ends meet. There are third- and fourth-generation companies that are about to go under. . . {The Democrats] want us to become a European-style, socialist utopia."

Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan has stated that following the pandemic and high inflation, many people want to go back to 2019.

In an interview with Patch.com, Stewart remarked, "Everything has changed. The cost of living has changed. We are not going to be able to go back to that living in the world we're in now. We have to move forward."

Johnson said that Hayes has voted with the progressive "Squad" in the U.S. House "90 percent of the time."

The NRCC has been distributing news releases for months criticizing Hayes. In a recent statement, the congresswoman indicated that the NRCC was doing that because it "can’t point to any legislative accomplishments of Logan as a state senator."

Commented Logan, "I don't hear a single person say [in this district] that Jahana Hayes is working for them. I haven't heard a single person say that Biden's policies have made our borders secure."

He warned that the Democrats "will bring out their special interest groups to try to maintain the status-quo in the Fifth Congressional District."

However, Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie was critical of Logan for bringing Johnson to the district, recently writing on his Daily Ructions blog, "Johnson's views on many issues may go down well in Louisiana but are considered extreme in Connecticut."