2026 forecast · Connecticut 5th

Jahana Hayes is all but certain to win Connecticut's 5th District.

Jahana Hayes vs Chris Shea. The model has Hayes ahead by 16.5 points, winning 99 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Safe DModel D +16.5Updated October 22, 2026
Jahana Hayes
Democrat
58.3%
166,663 projected votes
Chris Shea
Republican
41.8%
119,476 projected votes
99%Hayes
1%Shea
Hayes all but certainEach square is one simulated election night, Hayes wins about 99 of 100
RatingSafe D99% chance for Hayes
Model marginD +16.5No polls in the race
80 percent rangeD +25.3 to D +7.62,000 simulations
Projected votes286,139Hayes 58.2%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

Connecticut districts

5 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Jahana HayesDemocrat · 99% to win
58.3%
Chris SheaRepublican · 1% to win
41.8%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

286,139 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Jahana Hayes D166,66358.2%
Chris Shea R119,47641.8%
Total286,139100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%99% Hayes1% Shea15 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The Connecticut governor polling average
25%30%35%40%45%50%55%60%65%JulAugSepOct55.7Lamont37.0Fazio
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
Quinnipiac University Polling InstituteSep 14 · 1,288 LV · C18%Lamont +17.0
Quinnipiac UniversityOct 12 · 1,225 LV · C17%Lamont +20.0
Emerson CollegeOct 12 · 800 LV · Gold16%Lamont +13.0
co/efficient (R)Sep 17 · 979 LV · C+12%Lamont +7.0
Sacred Heart University / WFSB / CT InsiderOct 12 · 1,000 LV · NR12%Lamont +26.6
Wesleyan SurveyLab/YouGovOct 7 · 420 LV · C11%Lamont +23.0
Every other poll together: 14%

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageNo polls

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Hayes +16.5
Chance of winning
Jahana Hayes99%
Chris Shea1%
Simulated vote
Jahana Hayes58.3%
Chris Shea41.8%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanR +6.0
FundamentalsD +16.5
With pollsD +16.9
Early vote turnoutR +0.4
With early voteD +16.5

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in Connecticut, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +20R +20Partisan leanthe state's baselineR +6.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesD +16.5With pollsno pollsD +16.9With early voteturnout so farD +16.5
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.