VERNON, CT — It appears Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney has captured an 11th term in office.
Said state Democratic officials Tuesday night, "All of Connecticut's incumbent U.S. Reps won re-election tonight. This extends the historic streak of Democratic Congressional wins to 10 election cycles."
According to the secretary of the state's database, at 11 p.m., Tuesday Courtney had received 53,096 votes, or 60.84 percent, while Republican challenger George Austin was about 20 percentage points behind with 34,160 votes.
Courtney jumped out to an early lead. At 10 p.m., two hours after the polls closed, he had amassed 25,956 votes. Austin tallied 17,619 votes on the GOP line on the Independent line.
Write-in candidate Kyle Gauck had seven votes at 10 p.m.
"It's funny. I was texting a friend from the same (Congressional) class and were were thinking it seems like yesterday, not 10 terms and 20 years," Courtney said.
Why?
"It's really, the same set of issues," Courtney said. "We have a war that has turned into a quagmire, we have concerns over the cost of health care and prescription drugs and we have general dissatisfaction."
Courtney serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He is the ranking member of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, where his work includes submarine and shipbuilding programs important to Connecticut's defense industry.
If the Democrats control the House after the election, Courtney said he will likely chair the Seapower Subcommittee.
The defense industry is one area of satisfaction, he said. With domestic and Australian demand for subs, the yard at Electric Boat now has about 28,000 workers. The goal always had been about 30,000 and at one time, it was down to 8,000, he said.
"So we're there," Courtney said. "And it also helps the subcontractors in eastern Connecticut. Even our high schools have been affected."
Indeed Courtney said the Electric Boat-sponsored welding program between rockville High School in his hometown of Vernon is just one example.
Courtney grew up in West Hartford, graduated from Tufts University in 1975 and earned a law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1978.
Before entering Congress, he worked as a public defender, practiced law privately and served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1987 to 1994.
He lives in Vernon with his wife, Audrey, and their two children.
Said Courtney after the win:
"Thank you to the people of the Second District for your support this election and throughout the years. It is the greatest honor of my life to serve you in the U.S. House of Representatives. I never have and never will take your decision to send me to Washington for granted.
"What I have heard time after time while crisscrossing the Second District over the past two years is that the people of eastern Connecticut want leaders in Washington who are focused on actually improving their lives.
"I'm ready to hit the ground running under a new majority in the 120th Congress to lower the cost of living that has skyrocketed under this Administration because of an illegal war of choice, indiscriminate tariffs that the American people pay for, and draconian health care cuts.
"I look forward to reclaiming the Chairmanship of the Seapower Subcommittee, supporting shipbuilders and suppliers as they ramp up production to meet the historic demand signal from this year's $76.6 billion contract awards to Electric Boat, and serving on the Education and Workforce Committee, reinvesting in our successful skills training pipelines that are connecting job seekers and young people to those careers.
"To everyone who cast a ballot in this election, including those who did not vote for me, I promise I will work every day to advance our region's shared interests."
Connecticut's 2nd congressional district includes the following towns and cities, according to the Connecticut General Assembly:
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