Connecticut's 3rd District Primary

Voters in Connecticut's 3rd Congressional District head to the polls Aug. 11, to choose nominees for one of the most reliably Democratic House seats in New England. The district anchors itself in New Haven, one of Connecticut's largest cities, and stretches along the state's southern coast. It is one of five U.S. House seats Connecticut sends to Washington.

Connecticut runs a traditional partisan primary: Democrats and Republicans hold separate contests on the same day, each producing one nominee who then faces the other in the November general election. There is no top-two or ranked-choice mechanism. The winner of each party's primary advances directly to the Nov. 3 general election, where five active candidates are currently listed across both major parties.

Democratic incumbent Rosa DeLauro is running for re-election, so this is not an open seat. Two candidates are competing in the Democratic primary; two more are contesting the Republican nomination. The general election field lists five active candidates in total.

The Candidates

Democratic Primary

DeLauro has held this seat since 1991, first elected in 1990 in a district centered on New Haven. In the 119th Congress, she serves as Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, the top Democratic position on the panel that controls all federal discretionary spending. She also holds the ranking slot on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Her legislative record centers on workers' rights, healthcare access, and family economic security; she authored the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act and has advocated for an expanded Child Tax Credit across multiple Congresses. She won re-election in 2024 with 59% of the vote.

Andrew Rice, 37, is a molecular biologist from Milford who was born in Danbury and has lived and worked in the district for roughly 15 years. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, he is running on a progressive, working-class platform. He describes himself as an "Independent People's Populist" who is "standing up to fight for the working class, not for corporate donors or foreign interests," drawing a generational and ideological contrast with the incumbent.

Republican Primary

Christopher Lancia is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and former law enforcement officer from Milford who currently works as a manager at TNI, a fiber network provider. A longtime Republican activist, he previously served on the Milford Republican Town Committee and has been involved in prior CT-3 campaigns. Lancia is the better-funded of the two Republican contenders and frames his candidacy around an "America First" platform, describing the race as an effort to give Connecticut voters a voice in support of national Republican priorities.

Rafael Irizarry, a political consultant from Stratford, previously sought the Republican nomination in this district in 2024 but did not appear on the primary ballot. He is running again in 2026. As of the Connecticut GOP convention in May 2026, he had not reported raising any campaign funds.

The Money Behind the Race

Candidates in the race have raised a combined $1,207,256 across all campaigns, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data current through Aug. 5. Outside spending, by contrast, has been negligible.

Sierra Club Independent Action is the only outside group with reported independent expenditures in the race. Its total: $10, spent in support of DeLauro. No opposition spending against any candidate has been filed. Communication costs reported to the FEC stand at zero. The FEC data on outside spending covers activity through July 1.

Ratings vs. Odds

Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections all rate this seat Solid Democratic. Cook issued its rating July 16; Sabato updated to Solid Democratic on July 30; Inside Elections last rated it June 30. The three outlets are in full agreement.

Prediction markets back that consensus. Kalshi gives the Democratic candidate a 98.4% probability of winning the general election, with the Republican at 1.6%, as of Aug. 3. A total of 551 contracts had traded on the race as of that date.

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