The Connecticut delegation

congressional officials …

The Connecticut congressional delegation is an electorally strong congressional delegation with impressive academic credentials.

Of the seven members in the 2022-2023 class, all are Democrats; one is minority representation through the end of the year. Five are male, and two are female. Three are lawyers, three Master’s degrees have been awarded, and none have a doctorate.

Their colleges and universities include Cambridge, Columbia, Harvard, Oxford, Yale, and the University of Connecticut. 

The average tenure for the delegation currently is 7.8 terms, assuming everyone completes their service through the end of 2024. One of the members has military service.  The longest-serving member has been in Congress for 17 terms.

None of the Connecticut delegation are freshmen members.  One of the Senators is up for re-election in 2024.

When you look at these profiles, we have given each a letter grade for their effort this Congress, based on various factors, which you will find in What Is Thomas Looking For? These letter grades are probably pretty familiar to you if you have ever been a school student (we hope the answer to that is we all have!)

If you see a meager score for a particular member, it will probably be due to one or two key factors: ethics challenges or anti-democratic behavior.

• Republicans have been hit hard on their lack of pushback on former President Trump and their support of election denying in the 2020 presidential campaign. The unanswered soaring deficit on their watch, the dismantling of allied relationships around the globe, and opposition to funding anti-authoritarian initiatives. The denial of climate change weighs heavily on us as well. We make no secret that transparency and Government in the Sunshine are important to us, and we further argue that some have been awful stewards of this category. None of the Connecticut delegation members voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results on the same evening as Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol.

• Democrats have been hit hard for their lack of progress on key matters because they do control the United States Senate and have a razor-close margin in the U.S. House of Representatives. They have not been, in our opinion, innovative or necessarily insistent on finding rational, reasonable solutions to the problems plaguing the American public today. We want to see more and better.

• Both have been dinged for being too partisan and not collaborative where evident. In our opinion, being too doctrinaire or an obstructionist to good government in the 21st century does not get one a good grade from Thomas.

We also indicate what we believe might be the outcome of these Members’ 2024 elections today. The overwhelming majority of House members were re-elected in 2022.

Our prospect ratings fall into three categories:

• Safe Bet - which means what it means. These members of Congress are running strong and look to be overwhelming prospects for re-election at this time. However, we reserve the right to re-categorize their chances if necessary.

• It’s A Race - means this race is too close to call, and we can not reasonably predict who will win this seat.

• Nudging - means the seat is leaning one way or another for this candidate. We have just a small number of current members of Congress in this category. Stay tuned!

So, would you like to meet these fascinating Connecticuters? If so, just keep reading on!

what is thomas looking for?

There are no vulnerable races in Connecticut that we are watching for 2024.

the senators

United states senator richard blumenthal (d)

Connecticut’s senior senator is serving his third term in the Senate.  A former Marine from 1970 to 1976, Senator Blumenthal serves on the Armed Services Committee; the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee; the Judiciary Committee; the Veterans’ Affairs Committee; and the Select Committee on Aging.  Married and the father of four, Blumenthal graduated from Harvard University, attended Oxford University, and graduated with a law degree from Yale University.

Thomas Take: Not up for re-election in 2024.

Thomas Rank: B

Website

United States Senator chris murphy (d)

Connecticut’s junior senator Chris Murphy is a two-term member of the Senate who is facing re-election in 2024.  A graduate of Williams College who attended Oxford and then earned his law degree from the University of Connecticut, Murphy serves on the Appropriations Committee; the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; and the Foreign Affairs Committee.  He is married and the father of two.

Thomas Take: Safe Bet Democrat

Thomas Rank: A

Website

the representatives