Election+2012+-+September+23+-+Oct+14+-+House+Race

House Race By: Courtney Hall, Sanjana Rahman and Gregory Zane

**John Henry Decker (R)**
John Decker is the Republican candidate running for election in the First District of Connecticut. He was born in 1967 in Texarkana, Texas and moved to Connecticut when he was 3. After his parents separated at the age of 7, John Decker moved to the Washington D.C. area where he faced and overcame financial hardship. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma, he moved back to Connecticut with his wife and settled down with 3 kids in West Hartford, Connecticut. In running for Congress, Decker hopes to "elect real people at home in their communities instead of re-electing career politicians...".

Positions On The Issues:

 * Reducing Dependence on Foreign Oil
 * Promote the use of alternative energy sources
 * Remove restrictions on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico
 * Encourage the expansion of Natural Gas to power homes
 * Believes Washington D.C. needs to provide support, standards, control, and research to benefit schools.
 * Improving the Economy
 * Reduce corporate tax rates
 * Simplify the tax codes
 * Repeal unnecessary regulations
 * Health Care Reform
 * Following the Ryan Plan
 * Anti- Illegal Immigration

**John Larson (D)**
John Larson is the current defending U.S. Representative for Connecticut's First District and has been serving since 1990 as a Democrat. He was born in on July 22, 1948 in Hartford, CT. He lived in East Hartford, CT for much of his childhood and then attended Central Connecticut State University. He worked as a teacher for East Haven High School and owned an insurance agency before entering public service. He first served in the Connecticut Senate for 6 terms then ran for Connecticut Governor and lost. He then ran again for the U.S. House of Representatives and won in 1999. He has been the Representative since 1999.

Positions On The Issues:

 * Pro-choice and has voted in favor of stem cell research
 * Supports Obama Care
 * Against discrimination in the work place
 * More funding and stricter sentencing for hate crimes.
 * Protection of environment and National Parks
 * Progressive Internationalism
 * Allow Americans to travel to Cuba
 * Voted No on the Ryan Budget
 * Establish a Department of Peace and Nonviolence
 * Voted No on building a fence on the U.S.-Mexican Border
 * Voted Yes for extended unemployment benefits

District 2:



 * District 2** is the congressional district that includes the eastern portions of the state. It makes up all of New London, Tolland, and Windham Counties and parts of Hartford, Middlesex, and New Haven Counties. Geographically, it is the largest congressional district in the state. The major cities in this district include New London, Norwich, and Storrs.

**Joe Courtney (D)**
Joe Courtney is the U.S. Representative for Connecticut's Second congressional district since his first election in 2007 as a Democrat and is running against Paul Formica and Dan Reale. He was born on April 6, 1953 and grew up around Hartford, Connecticut. He graduated from Tufts University in 1975 and the continued his education at the University of Connecticut School of Law where he earned his law degree in 1978. Courtney served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1987 to 1994.

Positions On The Issues:

 * Supports restrictions on handguns
 * favors keeping Social Security from being privatized
 * Supports equal rights
 * Favors abortion rights, the right to contraception, and the continuation of stem cell research
 * Supports environmental programs
 * Supports the use of alternative energy sources
 * Promotes prohibiting discrimination in the work place due to sexual orientation

**Paul Formica (R)**
Paul Formica is the Republican candidate running against Joe Courtney and Dan Reale to be the U.S. Representative for Connecticut's Second congressional district. Paul Formica grew up in Cheshire, Connecticut and now currently resides in East Lyme with his family. He is a restaurant owner in East Lyme and served on the town's Board of Finance from 1999-2007. He then tried to run for the State House but lost in 2006. Paul Formica has also been East Lyme's first selectman since 2007. The 2012 U.S. House election is his first national government election.

Position On The Issues:

 * Believes Obama Care is not the proper direction for the country.
 * Increased spending for returning veterans programs
 * Supports a strong national defense
 * Strong supporter of army members and their families.
 * Interested in bringing back small business'
 * Pro-life stance
 * Against contraception given to workers.

**Dan Reale (L)**
Dan Reale is the Libertarian candidate running against Joe Courtney and Paul Formica for the U.S. House of Representatives seat from the Second congressional district. Dan Reale currently live in Plainfield, Connecticut with his family. Before joining the Libertarian Party, Reale was a member of the Democrat party and voted for Joe Courtney until he became opposed to the way they ran government.

Position On The Issues:

 * Economy:
 * The Seven Step Plan:
 * Step 1: End the fraud
 * Step 2: Apportion taxes
 * Step 3: Healthcare reform
 * Step 4: Stop off shoring jobs
 * Step 5: Stop policing the world
 * Step 6: End unconstitutional subsidies
 * Step 7: Social Security and Medicare reform
 * Allow people to keep their earnings
 * Create an environment that allows for the return of business
 * Takes national defense seriously
 * Declaring War against threats
 * Don't believe in over extending the military through nation building

District 3:
Connecticut's Third Congressional District extends from the approximately the middle of the state to the coastline along Long Island Sound. The district includes New Haven and Middletown, as well as several other smaller towns. This region of Connecticut has voted, in the past, strongly Democratic, with incumbant Rosa L. DeLauro winning every election since 1992.

Rosa L. DeLauro (D)
Rosa L. DeLauro was born on March 2, 1943, in New Haven, Connecticut. She is married to Stanley Greenbury; they have three grown children and four grandchildren. DeLauro battled and overcame ovarian cancer, an event that influenced her political views on several topics, including healthcare. Her Italian-American family was active in politics on the local level, meaning DeLauro was exposed to politics from a young age. She has been Connecticut's Third District Representative (running on the Democratic ballot) since she was first elected in 1991.

Position on the Issues:
 * 1) **The Economy:** DeLauro is a supporter of middle-class tax cuts, the ARRA (which gives relief to "Mainstreet" businesses and supports infrastructure improvements) and the creation of more jobs in America, as opposed to outsourcing them overseas. She voted in favor of the Jobs Bill, which would create more employment opportunities in Connecticut by creating infrastructure projects, much in the manner of FDR's New Deal. She has also advocated for increased medical coverage for workers and equal pay for women.
 * 2) **Healthcare:** As a cancer survivor, DeLauro has always voted for equal and affordable healthcare for all, including women, children, the elderly, and those who would otherwise not be able to afford it. She favors initiatives that would allow children to stay on their parents' healthcare until they are 26 years old, give tax cuts to small businesses who offer healthcare to their employees, and improving Medicare for senior citizens.
 * 3) **Energy and the Environment:** DeLauro believes in protecting natural resources and supports the "Green" initiative.
 * 4) **Women's Rights:** She holds a pro-choice stance, and supports the increased availability of contraceptives and family planning agencies. DeLauro has advocated for equal rights for women in the workplace, and voted in favor of Obama's most recent healthcare bill, which will protect women from increased rates from private insurance companies and improve Americans' access to healthcare.

Wayne Winsley (R)
Wayne Winsley is a Republican who was born on August 13, 1963, in Cleveland, Ohio. Winsley grew up in poverty, living in orphanages and foster homes after his relatives were no longer able to care for him. He is a former member of the Unted States Navy, and has also worked as a news anchor, radio and television personality, private investigator, and author. He is married and has three children.

Positions on the Issues:
 * **Medicare.** Although America cannot yet handle a total rehaul of Medicare, Winsley does believe that younger generations owe it to American senior citizens to improve the -in his opinion, crumbling- system of healthcare currently in place.
 * **Government Spending.** Winsley has committed to voting to reduce spending by the federal government as a means to reduce the national debt.
 * **Taxes:** Winsley believes that in order to benefit consumers, taxes on corporations must be reduced. He also supports the reducing of taxes for average citizens, as well.
 * **Education:** Education is, in Winsley's opinion, best strengthened at the state level. He therefore supports a return of power in the field of education to the states.
 * **The Role of Government:** As stated above, Winsley favors states' rights over a strong national government in matters of education. He also believes in a Laissez-faire policy in terms of the growth of businesses.
 * **Personal Values:** Winsley, like much of the Republican party, supports traditional values of religion, strong work ethic, and traditional family structures. He has not announced views on abortion or defense spending, among other issues.

District 4:
Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District contains the southeastern corner of the state, including large cities such as Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk, and Trumbull, among others. This district is almost evenly divided between the two major parties, with Republicans winning by a narrow margin from 1992-2006, and Democrats winning in the same fashion in more recent years. Himes is the incumbant.

Jim Himes (D)
Himes is a Democrat who was born in the capitol city of Lima, in Peru, to American parents, in 1966. He was raised by a single mother and attended both Harvard University and Oxford University. He has volunteered for reducing poverty in New York City, as well as working at several corporations and in Latin America. He is married and has two daughters.

Positions on the Issues:
 * **The Economy:** Himes believes that improving infrastructural and educational programs (such as renewing ex-President Bush's No Child Left Behind initiative), as well as finding renewable energy sources, will help to slowly but surely repair the economy.
 * **The Environment:** Taking a firm "green" position, Himes believes that we as Americans cannot afford to wait to find renewable sources of energy. Tying this into national security, Himes believes that when we find renewable energy sources, we can and should reduce our dependence on the Middle East for oil, thus securing our own national security and that of our planet.
 * **Spending:** Himes believes that we need to invest in our future as a country in order to keep up with world powers such as China and Japan, while at the same time reducing our overall deficit. He believes, however, that it is important to spend money on social welfare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
 * **Healthcare:** Favoring a states' rights position, Himes believes that healthcare, such as the recently passed Affordable Care Act, is best at work when closest to the people. He favors lower rates and less requirements for healthcare coverage.

Steve Obsitnik (R)
Steve Obsitnik is a Republican from Stamford, Connecticut. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and went on to work both with the Navy and the private sector to develop new technologies and to expand business ventures. His family's immigrant heritage influenced him as a person, and thus politically as well. He is married with two children.

Positions on the Issues:
 * **Job****Creation:** Obsitnik believes that reducing taxes and government regulations will aid local businesses and return more power to the people.
 * **Spending:** Although he does not have a clear plan on how to reduce spending, Obsitnik has made clear that he wants to reduce spending, increase efficiency, and reform existing programs.
 * **Education:** Obsitnik holds education very highly and as such, his plan holds standards for students and teachers accordingly. He also wants to undergo an educational reform and ensure equal educational opportunities for all Americans.
 * **Women's Rights:** Going against the traditional beliefs of his Republican partymates, Obsitnik is a strong supporter of pro-choice. He has advocated for the education and expansion of options for women in terms of unwanted pregnancies. He is also a supporter of equal rights for women in the workplace and healthcare system, as well as increased protection against domestic violence.
 * **Healthcare:** He believes that replacing the Afforable Care Act with more privatized options will insure that American citizens, especially the elderly, will receive the care they need.
 * **The Environment:** Alternative options, found through privitized research, will advance America into this field, according to Obsitnik.

District 5:
It includes several towns and is mostly the northwestern part of Connecticut.

Andrew Roraback(R)
Andrew Roraback is born and brought up in Connecticut and has graduated from Yale University. He is the Republican candidate and he believes that reforming the economy is the most important job and education is the best way to lower unemployment in the future. He believes that trade is very important for the US economy. He does not want government based health care as the government is already in debt. He believes that death penalty should be repealed and medical marijuana should be legalized. He fights for same-sex marriage rights.

Elizabeth Esty (D)


Elizabeth Esty was born in Illinois and moved constantly due to her father's construction company. She attended and graduated from Harvard College and Yale Law University. She is a democrat and her main goal is to fight for the rights of middle class. She believes in pro choice and she works towards getting equal rights to same-sex couples. She wants to help the economy grow and reform the health care to farther help the poor and the elderly.

John Pistone (I)
John Pistone is an Independent candidate and his only goal is to fight for the people's liberty and the core values of America. He is unaffiliated but his main goal is to reform the economy to better serve the people.

Review Questions:

1. How many districts in Connecticut? 2. What are the total number of candidates? 3. Is Elizabeth Esty a Democrat or Republican? 4. Who are the candidate for District 1? 5. Who left the 5th district position of representative to run for Senate?

District 1:
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District 2:
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District 3: [] [] [|http://rosadelauro.com/record#Economy] [] []

District 4: [] [] [] []