§1Candidates
Why this matters: Every candidate the state lists for this race on the November ballot, in the state's own order.
§2Side by side
Why this matters: The same facts for every candidate, in the same order. Where we found nothing for a candidate, the cell says so — that means we didn't find it in public sources, not that it doesn't exist.
| Fact | Jim Himes | Michael Ted Goldstein | Benjamin Wesley |
|---|---|---|---|
| Party on the ballot | Democratic Party1, | Republican Party1, | Independent Party1, |
| Status | Incumbent4 | Challenger | Challenger |
| Raised | $1,704,622 through October 14, 20265 | $59,216 through October 14, 20266 | Not found in the public sources we checked |
| Cash on hand | $2,419,4145 | $26,6656 | Not found in the public sources we checked |
| Health insurance system | His campaign website says he works to make Medicare sustainable, improve the Affordable Care Act and make quality, affordable health care available to all Americans.7 | His campaign website says government over-regulation has destroyed competition in health care and driven up costs, and that he would cut regulation, restore market competition and take on drug-industry middlemen and insurance practices.8 | One government plan for everyone (Medicare for All) His campaign website calls for investing in Medicare for All.9 |
| Passenger trains and Amtrak | His campaign website says he fought to deliver more than $348 million to replace the Walk Bridge and repair other aging Metro-North railroad bridges in Norwalk.10 | Not found in the public sources we checked | His campaign website says he would introduce legislation encouraging Connecticut's military contractors to diversify into civilian work, and proposes that Connecticut become the nation's leader in maglev trains, with short lines between Hartford and New Haven, Hartford and Storrs, and New Haven and Stamford.9 |
Issues only one candidate has addressed
By candidate, in ballot order. We found nothing public from the other candidates in this race on these issues.
Jim Himes — 13 issues
- Who sets abortion lawA national law making abortion legal in every state, at least until viability, as under Roe v. WadeHis campaign website says he opposed efforts to ban abortion at the federal level and is working to enshrine the right to an abortion for every woman in the country.11
- Discrimination protections for sexual orientation and gender identityPass broad protections such as the Equality ActHis campaign website says he cosponsored the Equality Act and helped pass it in the House.12
- Voting Rights Act protectionsHis campaign website says he has cosponsored several voting rights bills and will keep working to restore voting rights protections.13
- Banking and investment rulesHis campaign website says he played a major role in writing the Dodd-Frank Act's financial regulations and has turned his efforts to reforming the mortgage finance industry.14
- Federal minimum wageRaise to $15 or moreHis campaign website says he has fought to raise the minimum wage to $15 nationwide.14
- Clean energy tax credits
- Conservation and development on federal landsHis campaign website lists his cosponsorship of the Recovering America's Wildlife Act and his vote for a public lands law that it says helped protect more than two million new acres of wilderness.15
- AR-15-style riflesBan the sale of these riflesHis campaign website says he supports an assault weapons ban and cosponsored the Assault Weapons Ban of 2022.16
- Background checks for gun salesHis campaign website says he fights for gun safety laws including background checks and better mental health screening before gun purchases.16
- Rules for gun accessories and partsTighten rules, such as registering pistols with stabilizing braces and requiring serial numbers and background checks for all gun kits and partsHis campaign website says he supports limits on magazine sizes.16
- Highway and transit funding
- Medicare drug price negotiationHis campaign website says he helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which lets Medicare negotiate drug costs and capped out-of-pocket prescription costs at $2,000 and insulin at $35.7
- Social Security benefit levelsHis campaign website says he opposes any effort to privatize Social Security and will keep working to put it on a path to long-term stability.7
Michael Ted Goldstein — 9 issues
- Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programsHis campaign platform says he opposes quotas.8
- Religious exemptionsHis campaign platform says he supports religious exemptions.8
- Student loan forgivenessHis campaign website proposes forgiving up to $25,000 in student debt for graduates of Connecticut colleges who work in the state for five years.8
- Vouchers and education savings accountsHis campaign platform calls for promoting school choice and for vocational training vouchers.8
- Nuclear powerHis campaign website supports an all-of-the-above energy strategy of natural gas, nuclear and renewables, and calls for increasing Connecticut's natural gas and nuclear power supply.8
- Permitting for energy projectsHis campaign website says federal policy has blocked natural gas pipeline capacity into New England and that he would fight for federal legislation to unblock pipeline expansion.8
- Medical transition for minorsHis campaign platform calls for banning gender-affirming surgery until adulthood.8
- Federal income tax ratesHis campaign platform calls for keeping taxes low.8
- Federal spending levelsHis campaign platform says he opposes unchecked spending.8
Benjamin Wesley — 7 issues
- Foreign intelligence surveillance (FISA Section 702)His campaign website calls for repealing the Patriot Act and reforming FISA, saying they let the government get around constitutional limits to spy on Americans.9
- Foreign aidHis campaign website calls for restoring funding for UNRWA and other humanitarian organizations working in Gaza.9
- Iran's nuclear program and sanctionsHis campaign website calls for cutting off funding for the war in Iran, which it says has raised prices for food, gas and other goods.9
- Military aid to IsraelReduce or end military aid to IsraelHis campaign website calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for ending all weapons sales and donations to Israel for the immediate future, saying passage of the Block the Bombs Act (H.R. 3565) would be a start.9
- Military spendingCut military spendingHis campaign website says the country does not need a defense budget of more than $1 trillion a year or more than 800 bases worldwide, and calls for returning military savings to the public through lower taxes or investments such as Medicare for All.9
- Who decides on military actionHis campaign website says he will not vote for any supplemental funding for foreign wars without a congressional war resolution.9
- Immigration enforcement inside the countryAbolish ICE and move any remaining enforcement work to other agenciesHis campaign website calls for abolishing ICE and a wholesale reorganization of immigration enforcement.9
Issue statements are drafted by AI from the public sources cited, and only cover what each candidate has said publicly.