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Connecticut's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026 (August 11 Democratic primary)

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← 2024
Connecticut's 3rd Congressional District
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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: Safe 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 3rd 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

A Democratic Party primary takes place on August 11, 2026, in Connecticut's 3rd Congressional District to determine which Democratic 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.[1]

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

This page focuses on Connecticut's 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

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

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Connecticut District 3

Incumbent Rosa L. DeLauro (D), Damjan DeNoble (D), and Andrew Rice (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Connecticut District 3 on August 11, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Rosa L. DeLauro
Rosa L. DeLauro
Image of Damjan DeNoble
Damjan DeNoble  Candidate Connection
Image of Andrew Rice
Andrew Rice

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete 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.

Damjan DeNoble

Image of Damjan DeNoble

WebsiteYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "Damjan DeNoble is a former immigration defense lawyer and small business owner running for Congress because he believes the Democratic Party has stopped taking responsibility for governing. For more than a decade, DeNoble represented immigrants, workers, and families navigating a federal system defined by delay, cruelty, and political cowardice. He watched as Democratic leaders campaigned on reform, won power, and then failed to deliver even the most basic fixes, leaving millions in legal limbo while fundraising emails replaced legislation. DeNoble built and led legal and nonprofit organizations focused on due process and access to justice, including work responding to mass detention and deportation crises. Over time, he became convinced that the problem was not a lack of good policy ideas, but a political culture inside the Democratic Party that rewards caution, seniority, and inertia over results. He is running for Congress to challenge that culture directly. DeNoble argues that Democrats cannot credibly defend democracy while tolerating a system where incumbents go decades without contested primaries and Congress functions more as a messaging platform than a lawmaking body. His campaign focuses on restoring accountability, rebuilding Congress as a deliberative institution, and advancing policies that materially improve people’s lives, including immigration reform that actually gets passed. DeNoble lives in Connecticut with his wife and three children."

Key Messages

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

I’m doing this because for people our age, politics has quietly stopped working and everyone in charge seems fine with that. If you’re under forty, you got student debt, rent that eats half your paycheck, jobs that never feel secure, and a political system that keeps telling you to wait your turn. The problem is, your turn never comes. I spent years as an immigration defense lawyer watching people do everything right and still get stuck, while Democratic leaders campaigned on fixing the system and then did nothing. That’s when I realized this isn’t just about immigration. It’s about a party that’s learned to manage decline instead of fighting for a future. Young people don’t lack ideas or energy. We lack access and power. Let’s get it.

The second thing I want to say is this: we need to start building big again. Somewhere along the line, Democrats stopped believing we’re allowed to solve big problems. Everything became a pilot program, a tax credit, a study, a workaround. That’s not leadership. That’s fear dressed up as realism. Young people know the difference. We know housing won’t get fixed with slogans. We know healthcare won’t get fixed with half-measures. We know immigration, climate, and work won’t fix themselves while Congress argues over messaging. Building big means doing what earlier generations did: naming the problem, passing laws that actually change material conditions, and accepting that progress requires risk. I’m not here to manage decline.

The third message is this: Democrats have to stop being the baddies. Since 2001, we’ve built a massive surveillance and enforcement state that treats immigrants, activists, and whole communities as threats to be managed instead of people to be represented. ICE is a product of that era, and it should be abolished. Not rebranded. Not reformed around the edges. Ended. You can’t claim to defend freedom while running detention centers, mass surveillance, and deportation systems that mirror the worst instincts of the national security state. And you can’t claim moral leadership abroad while enabling atrocities with blank checks and silence. Young people see this clearly. They don’t want a party that explains why cruelty is unavoidable.

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
Rosa L. DeLauro Democratic Party $689,298 $675,149 $239,597 As of December 31, 2025
Damjan DeNoble Democratic Party $11,413 $4,245 $-2,110 As of December 31, 2025
Andrew Rice Democratic Party $10,632 $552 $10,081 As of December 31, 2025

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.

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.


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

2023_01_03_ct_congressional_district_03.jpg
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+8. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 8 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Connecticut's 3rd the 141st most Democratic district nationally.[2]

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 3rd Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
56.0%42.0%

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
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorDemocratic Party Ned Lamont
Lieutenant GovernorDemocratic Party Susan Bysiewicz
Secretary of StateDemocratic Party Stephanie Thomas
Attorney GeneralDemocratic Party 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

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Connecticut General Assembly, "Conn. Gen. Stat. § 9-431," accessed October 20, 2025
  2. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025


Connecticut's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Richard Blumenthal (D)
Christopher Murphy (D)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Jim Himes (D)
District 5
Democratic Party (7)


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