WATERBURY, Conn. (WTIC Radio)—Democratic Congresswoman Jahana Hayes will continue to represent Connecticut's fifth congressional district after challenger David X. Sullivan (R) conceded to the incumbent Wednesday morning.
Outside Waterbury City Hall Wednesday afternoon, Hayes announced her victory, saying that she spoke with Sullivan who congratulated her that morning.
The vote count was too close to call Election Night. Hayes said she did not plan to comment on the race until after all the votes were counted.
"[Tuesday] night, we were getting the numbers, and I felt comfortable that we were in a good place, but my campaign spent a lot of time over the last two months encouraging people to vote early, to mail in their absentee ballots, and all of those votes are important. I wanted to wait for all of those votes to be counted," Hayes said.
It wasn't until Sullivan called and conceded, she said, that she decided to speak on her victory.
In a statement, Sullivan said though he was personally disappointed in the outcome, he respects the results. Moving forward, he hopes to help in any efforts that aim to resolve the issues in the state and the nation.
Looking to Sullivan's campaign, Hayes said she knows that law enforcement was a central issue for him.
"I have always been committed to supporting our law enforcement. I remain committed. I would hope that we extend that same level of commitment and support to the spouses and families of law enforcement officers, and he agreed with me," Hayes said.
As for her own plans moving forward, Hayes said she would want to work on issues surrounding special education and food security.
However, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the top focus right now is to get another COVID relief package out to citizens, Hayes said.
"We have to make sure we stabilize our economy. We have to get this virus under control and get our businesses back online, get people back to work," she said.
In the long term, Hayes said she hopes to address issues the pandemic has exposed such as the gaps in education, food security and housing.
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