Shifts In The Run For The Second District

Mathew Biadun | News-Editor

For the first time in six years, Connecticut’s Second Congressional District is going to see at least one new contestant, and possibly two, to represent it in the U.S. House.

Current Rep. Joe Courney (D) had first won the seat in 2006, beating a Republican incumbent by just ninety votes from more than 242,000 cast. Since then, his victories have been far more assured, consistently getting about sixty percent of the vote. In both 2022 and 2024, former Connecticut State Representative Mike France (R) challenged Courtney for the seat. He lost both times, garnering 40% in 2022 and 42% in 2024. 

Mike France was set to face Courtney again this year. However, another Republican challenger entered the race against him in 2026. George Austin, a small business owner from Suffield, announced in September that he was challenging Mike France from the leadership. He came to speak to Eastern students in October, where the Campus Lantern interviewed him on his candidacy.

Having already lost twice, France’s bid for a third-term seemed challenged. Political candidates face two major steps before becoming a party’s candidate for an election. The first is at a party convention, when party delegates meet to pick a candidate. If a single candidate wins then, they become the party nominee. However, should another candidate get at least 15% of the convention vote, or get enough signatures, they can run in a primary open to all Republican voters. Many suspected that, should France win at a convention, Austin had a strong chance of winning at a primary regardless.

It was perhaps this possibility that led France to bow out of the race yesterday. In a campaign message, France wrote that his previous two bids could help, not hinder, his campaign. “From the outset, building on the success of our previous campaigns, there was a narrow but real path to victory in this race. Experience matters. Facts matter.” However, seemingly alluding to Austin’s challenge, he continued, “Unfortunately, a small number of Republican leaders in Eastern Connecticut chose internal division over cooperation. Their actions fractured the coalition necessary to win and undermined the progress we had made.” 

He went on to say that he was confident that he could win at the convention and in a primary, but not in the general election. 

With France having left the race, Republicans are now united behind a candidate. However, it is now the Democrats who may see division, with Joe Courtney seeing a challenger of his own. Kyle Gauck, a veteran who formerly worked in the aerospace industry and who now owns a small business, is challenging Joe Courtney for the Democratic nomination. The Campus Lantern also conducted an interview with him, asking questions about his policies, on the Trump administration, and on what his path to victory looks like.