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To: Interested Parties
From: Riya Vashi, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: August 11, 2026
Subject: The Case Against Chris Shea
Jahana Hayes has spent her life fighting for the working families of Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District. Born and raised in Waterbury, Jahana overcame poverty and teenage motherhood and went on to give back to her community by becoming a public school teacher. Jahana was even named National Teacher of the Year before her students inspired her to run for Congress. Since 2018, Jahana has built an undisputed reputation as a fierce advocate for Northwest Connecticut, delivering millions of dollars for local schools, law enforcement, and infrastructure in Waterbury, Danbury, New Britain, Meriden, and communities across the district.
Jahana has led the fight to lower costs and expand opportunity for Connecticut families. She has worked to lower prescription drug prices, increase access to baby formula, defend Medicare and Social Security, expand affordable health care, protect reproductive freedom, stand up for veterans, and end childhood hunger. As a member of the Agriculture Committee and the Education and Workforce Committee, Jahana has taken on food insecurity, championed stronger public schools, and fought for better-paying jobs, always with an eye toward the families back home.
Then there’s MAGA extremist Chris Shea.
Chris Shea is no match for Jahana Hayes. While Jahana has spent her career fighting for the working families of Connecticut’s 5th District, Shea has spent his campaign proving he will be nothing more than a rubber stamp for Donald Trump and the MAGA extremists in Washington whose agenda is hiking costs, gutting health care, and putting Connecticut families at risk.
Shea Backs Trump’s Extreme Agenda to Raise Costs and Rip Health Care From Connecticut Families
Shea has proudly called Donald Trump his “boss” and said Trump’s disastrous economic policies were “serving the country well,” even as those same policies forced the average Connecticut middle-class family to pay thousands of dollars more these last two years to get by. Shea has cheered on the Big, Ugly Bill projected to kick more than 34,000 people in Connecticut’s 5th District off their health insurance, threaten food assistance for more than 37,000 households, strip more than $86 million in revenue from hospitals in the district, and raise Connecticut families’ energy costs by $150 a year. Shea said it was “about time” for Trump’s Iran war, cheering on a reckless war of choice that has driven gas prices up to $4.17 per gallon and diesel up to $5.69 per gallon, all while his neighbors struggle to make ends meet.
Shea Is A Threat To Connecticut Women And Seniors
Shea’s extremism does not stop at his loyalty to Donald Trump. He’s also proudly backed the Big, Ugly Bill’s assault on reproductive freedom, cheering on legislation that would “defund” Planned Parenthood, cut off Medicaid reimbursements for the more than 23,000 patients who rely on them, and limit access to cancer screenings, medicine, and birth control for the nearly 51,000 Connecticut patients served each year by Planned Parenthood’s 14 health centers across the state. The same bill would incentivize insurers administering ACA plans to drop abortion coverage entirely, gutting reproductive care for women across the 5th District.
As voters across the nation make clear they’re tired of corrupt politicians, Shea’s own ties to corrupt actors are disqualifying. Shea’s campaign paid a firm led by a convicted fraudster who preyed on elderly veterans and a woman with Alzheimer’s. Shea’s campaign ally scammed more than $1 million out of vulnerable people he targeted. Despite the fact Shea’s ally pled guilty to defrauding thousands of political donors in 2023, Shea paid his firm earlier this year. Chris Shea has made it clear his loyalty is to Donald Trump and the corrupt MAGA extremists in his party, not to the working families of Connecticut’s 5th District.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Connecticut Public: As shutdown drags on, CT’s US Rep. Jahana Hayes recalls time as a SNAP recipient [Connecticut Public, 10/30/25]
“Over the course of a conversation about the suspension of the SNAP food assistance program, U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes looked back Wednesday night to her times as a teacher of children experiencing hunger and as a struggling mother whose path to college and career was unconventional.
“You know, when my kids were little, I was on SNAP. I was on food stamps,” Hayes said. “It was the difference between me putting my kids to bed hungry, and not. When I was a student going to school, working two jobs, I was still qualified for the program. So I know that there are people out there doing everything that they can and still just can’t get by trying to provide for their children.”
Hartford Courant: CT congresswoman introduces ‘fix’ for teacher student loan forgiveness [Hartford Courant, 5/15/26]
The Newtown Bee: Hayes Secures Over $8 Million For Community Projects In The Fifth District [The Newtown Bee, 2/16/26]
CT Mirror: CT, other states sue Trump administration over SNAP suspension [CT Mirror, 10/28/25]
“U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th District, joined Tong at the press conference announcing the lawsuit, where she underscored that the administration has the legal authority to keep alive a program that provides food to the working poor and struggling seniors.
“It is laughable to me that the president is resting on the premise that he can’t do this or he doesn’t have the authority, that it’s up to Congress to fix it,” Hayes said. “For the last 10 months, we’ve experienced a president running roughshod, doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.”
Newsweek: New Bill Would Make Student Loan Forgiveness Easier for Teachers [Newsweek, 5/15/26]
“The Teacher Debt Relief Act, introduced by Democratic U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes of Connecticut, seeks to streamline existing forgiveness programs so teachers can access debt relief sooner without having to navigate conflicting rules.”
American Journal News: Chris Shea takes unpopular positions on Iran War, Medicaid [American Journal News, 8/11/26]
“Republican Chris Shea took several unpopular positions during a March interview with WTIC radio, including cheerleading the Iran war and endorsing permanent cuts to Medicaid.
“He told WTIC that Trump is “our boss” and that House Republicans need to “coalesce behind him.” He added that voters struggling under Trump’s economy simply need to wait longer to see results.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
Jahana Hayes keeps winning Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District because working families across Northwest Connecticut trust her to deliver for them, and the numbers prove it. In 2024, Jahana won reelection with 53.4% of the vote, a 3-point improvement over her 2022 performance and stronger than Vice President Kamala Harris’s 52.8% in the district. Even as the district shifted right at the top of the ticket, Jahana ran ahead of Harris and improved her margins across all five of the district’s planning regions, deepening the coalition she has built since winning this seat in 2018.
That kind of electoral strength is nothing new for Jahana, who has consistently outrun expectations cycle after cycle from Waterbury to Danbury to New Britain to Meriden. Heading into November, Democrats hold a more than 7-point registration advantage in Connecticut’s 5th District, and Jahana is well-positioned to win reelection once again.
In November, voters will choose between a proven fighter who has spent her career delivering for Northwest Connecticut, and Chris Shea, a self-described rubber stamp for Donald Trump who will make life harder for working families across the 5th District. Connecticut families know exactly who is in their corner, and they will reject Shea and reelect Jahana this November. |
