The Signs Are Up For The 2nd District U.S. House Race: It's 'Joe Couurtney' Vs. 'George'

CONNECTICUT — The signs are up, signifying the showdown in Connecticut's 2nd Congressional District between longtime (did we say long?) incumbent Joe Courtney and challenger George Austin is on.

Courtney is a Democrat and Austin is a Republican.

Here is the lowdown on each candidate from campaign material.

AUSTIN

George Austin, a Republican candidate for Connecticut's 2nd Congressional District, is a Suffield resident, construction management professional and small business owner who says he is running to bring his experience as a husband, father and entrepreneur to Washington. The son of Mexican immigrants, Austin earned a degree in construction management from Central Connecticut State University while raising his family and building his business. He has also supported youth sports and local community organizations.

According to his campaign, Austin’s priorities include lowering costs for families, reducing taxes and energy bills, supporting small businesses and Connecticut’s manufacturing and defense industries, securing the nation’s borders, and expanding technical education and apprenticeship opportunities. He also advocates for veterans and seniors, parental rights in education, and greater transparency in government.

For more information, visit his official campaign website.

COURTNEY

Joe Courtney, a Democrat seeking re-election to Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional District, has represented eastern Connecticut in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2007. A lifelong Connecticut resident, 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.

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. His priorities have included supporting Electric Boat and the submarine industrial base, protecting jobs, expanding workforce training, assisting veterans and improving access to health care and higher education. He lives in Vernon with his wife, Audrey, and their two children.

For more information, visit his official campaign website.

Connecticut's 2nd congressional district includes the following towns and cities, according to the Connecticut General Assembly:

• Andover
• Ashford
• Bolton
• Bozrah
• Brooklyn
• Canterbury
• Chaplin
• Chester
• Clinton
• Colchester
• Columbia
• Coventry
• Deep River
• East Haddam
• East Hampton
• East Lyme
• Eastford
• Ellington
• Enfield
• Essex
• Franklin
• Glastonbury (shared)
• Griswold
• Groton
• Haddam
• Hampton
• Hebron
• Killingly
• Killingworth
• Lebanon
• Ledyard
• Lisbon
• Lyme
• Madison
• Mansfield
• Marlborough
• Montville
• New London
• North Stonington
• Norwich
• Old Lyme
• Old Saybrook
• Plainfield
• Pomfret
• Preston
• Putnam
• Salem
• Scotland
• Somers
• Sprague
• Stafford
• Sterling
• Stonington
• Suffield
• Thompson
• Tolland
• Union
• Vernon
• Voluntown
• Waterford
• Westbrook
• Willington
• Windham