Connecticut's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 11 Republican primary)

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Connecticut's 5th Congressional District
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 9, 2026
Primary: August 11, 2026 General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Connecticut
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Connecticut's 5th Congressional District 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th Connecticut elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House raceArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House raceFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House raceOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House raceTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House raceVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House raceSubmit

A Republican Party primary takes place on August 11, 2026, in Connecticut's 5th Congressional District to determine which Republican candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline	Primary election	General election
June 9, 2026	August 11, 2026	November 3, 2026

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate whom they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Connecticut law gives parties discretion to decide whether unaffiliated voters may vote in their primaries. As of October 2025, both parties operated closed primary where only a voter affiliated with the party may vote in a party's primary.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Connecticut's 5th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

• Connecticut's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 11 Democratic primary)
• Connecticut's 5th Congressional District election, 2026

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

• Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
• Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
  

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Connecticut District 5

Michele Botelho (R), Jonathan De Barros (R), and Chris Shea (R) are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Connecticut District 5 on August 11, 2026.

		Candidate
		Michele Botelho
		Jonathan De Barros
	Submit photo	Chris Shea

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Michele Botelho

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "I am a wife, a mother, and a caregiver. I received a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Northeastern University. I received my Paralegal Certification from Boston University. I worked for the MA Dept. of Labor, the IRS, and law firms. I also worked for the Public School system tutoring children and as a CNA caring for the elderly. I homeschooled my children until they were ready for college. I ran a small business. I am and have always been committed to public service. I volunteer at food shelters and help single mothers and low-income families. I volunteer at church to instill humility and integrity into our young children."

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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I pledge to help continue to restore America's integrity to what it was intended to be by our Founding Fathers. A government that protects and ensures individual rights.

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I pledge to help make America energy independent and bring back manufacturing jobs to bring the costs of goods and services down.

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I pledge to help to lower taxes and bring down the costs for health care.

Jonathan De Barros

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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I’m a Proud United States Republican Congressional Candidate who supports America first policies and our United States Constitutional Republic and I look forward to fighting for the people of Connecticut in Washington D.C. For far too long the radical left has destroyed our economy with outrageous policies which includes proxy wars around the globe to money launder our tax dollars through the military industrial complex, corruption through USAID, and their open border policies which allowed our Nation to be invaded by over 20 million illegal migrants costing the American taxpayers over $150 billion dollars and counting. I plan to go to Congress to help Make America Great Again with common sense policies of putting America first.

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I want to bring respect and honor back to our law enforcement community and our veterans because they are our bedrock of our Nation. The Constitutional Republic is intact because of the sacrifices of those who fought to defend it both here at home and overseas and in order for us to continue preserving our Nation we will first have to honor and protect our veterans who are in need of our support. Our local law enforcement agencies have to be allowed to perform their duties without fear of being targeted by frivolous lawsuits or other acts against them for doing their jobs of serving and protecting the public. Our veterans and law enforcement agencies will be given all of the resources they need to be supported in the 5th district.

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It’s time to end the welfare State I believe that anyone who is able bodied to work that is enrolled in any Federally funded entitlement programs should be required to be enrolled into a job training program to help them to become self sufficient and no longer dependent on the Government. By providing financial literacy training opportunities and vocational training opportunities to people currently unemployed on government entitlement programs we can help them to transition off of these services which will help reduce the tax burden on the rest of us allowing our State to become more competitive in attracting new business investment opportunities for the American citizens of Connecticut.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Connecticut

Election information in Connecticut: Aug. 11, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: Aug. 10, 2026
• By mail: Postmarked by July 24, 2026
• Online: July 24, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: Aug. 10, 2026
• By mail: Received by Aug. 10, 2026
• Online: Aug. 10, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: Aug. 11, 2026
• By mail: Received by Aug. 11, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

Aug. 3, 2026 to Aug. 9, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

6:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (ET)

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Michele Botelho	Republican Party	$30,945	$22,936	$2,527	As of December 31, 2025
Jonathan De Barros	Republican Party	$13,792	$9,652	$3,930	As of December 31, 2025
Chris Shea	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

• District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
• Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
• State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

• District map
• Competitiveness
• Presidential elections
• State party control

Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026

Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+3. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 3 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Connecticut's 5th the 176th most Democratic district nationally.

2024 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Connecticut's 5th Congressional District

Kamala Harris	Donald Trump
52.0%	46.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Connecticut, 2024

Connecticut presidential election results (1900-2024)

• 16 Democratic wins
• 16 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024
Winning Party	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

See also: Party control of Connecticut state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Connecticut's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Connecticut
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	5	7
Republican	0	0	0
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	5	7

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Connecticut's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Connecticut, October 2025

Office	Officeholder
Governor	Ned Lamont
Lieutenant Governor	Susan Bysiewicz
Secretary of State	Stephanie Thomas
Attorney General	William Tong

State legislature

Connecticut State Senate

Party		As of February 2026
	Democratic Party	25
	Republican Party	11
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		36

Connecticut House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2026
	Democratic Party	102
	Republican Party	49
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		151

Trifecta control

Connecticut Party Control: 1992-2025
Fifteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	I	I	I	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Connecticut in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Connecticut, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Connecticut	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	2% of enrolled party members	N/A	6/9/2026	Source
Connecticut	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	1% of votes cast for the office in the last election, or 7,500, whichever is less	N/A	6/9/2026	Source

See also

• Connecticut's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 11 Democratic primary)
• Connecticut's 5th Congressional District election, 2026
• United States House elections in Connecticut, 2026 (August 11 Democratic primaries)
• United States House elections in Connecticut, 2026 (August 11 Republican primaries)
• United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2026
• United States House Republican Party primaries, 2026
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2026
• U.S. House battlegrounds, 2026

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

Connecticut's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Richard Blumenthal (D)

Christopher Murphy (D)

Representatives

District 1

John Larson (D)

District 2

Joe Courtney (D)

District 3

Rosa DeLauro (D)

District 4

Jim Himes (D)

District 5

Jahana Hayes (D)

Democratic Party (7)

2025-2026 Elections to the United States Congress

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Election information

Ballot access for major and minor party candidates • List of candidates running for election • List of congressional challengers • Retiring senators • Retiring representatives

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Super PACs/Organizations

American Bridge 21st Century • American Crossroads • American Unity PAC • Campaign for Primary Accountability • Club for Growth Action • Congressional Leadership Fund • Cooperative of American Physicians IE Committee• Crossroads Generation • Ending Spending Action Fund • Endorse Liberty • Fair Share Action • FreedomWorks for America • Government Integrity Fund • House Majority PAC • Independence USA Fund • League of Conservation Voters • Liberty for All PAC • Majority PAC • National Association of Realtors • NEA Advocacy Fund • Now or Never PAC • Planned Parenthood Votes • Ready for Hillary • Republicans for a Prosperous America • Restore America's Voice PAC • SEIU Pea-Federal • Women Vote!

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