The 2002 United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut were held on November 5, 2002, to elect the five members of the U.S. House, one from each of the state's congressional districts, to represent Connecticut in the 108th Congress. The elections coincided with the gubernatorial election as well as with Congressional elections in other states.

During redistricting, Connecticut lost 1 congressional district, pitting incumbents Nancy L. Johnson and James H. Maloney against each other. Maloney lost, reducing the Democratic seat total to 2, and giving Republicans the majority of seats. Despite winning more seats, Republicans did not win the popular vote.

Connecticut was one of five states in which the party that won the state's popular vote did not win a majority of seats in 2002, the other states being Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico,Tennessee, and Texas.

Overview United States House of Representatives elections in Connecticut, 2002PartyVotesPercentageSeats+/– Democratic 509,036 51.45% 2 -1 Republican 465,982 47.10% 3 0 Green 9,050 0.91% 0 0 Concerned Citizens 3,709 0.37% 0 0 Libertarian 1,503 0.15% 0 0 Write-in candidates 29 <0.01% 0 0 Totals 989,309 100.00% 5 —

District 1

Two term incumbent, Democrat John Larson, faced Republican challenger Phil Steele in the election; Larson was re-elected to a third term with 72.98 percent of the vote.

Democratic primary Candidates Nominee John Larson, incumbent representative (1999-2026)

Republican primary Candidates Nominee Phil Steele, candidate for this seat in 1992, brother of former U.S. Representative from Connecticut's 2nd congressional district Robert H. Steele (1970-1975), sons of radio personality Bob Steele

Eliminated in primary Miriam J. Masullo, researcher for IBM Research

Primary results

Write-in candidacies Candidates Miriam J. Masullo, researcher for IBM Research (Previously a candidate for the Republican nomination) Max Welch, 24 year old from East Hartford

General Election Results

District 2

One-term incumbent Republican Rob Simmons went up against Democratic nominee former state representative Joe Courtney. Simmons won re-election to a second term with 54.09% of the vote and a margin of 8.18%.

Predictions SourceRankingAs of New York Times October 14, 2002 Sabato's Crystal Ball November 4, 2002

Republican primary Candidates Nominee Rob Simmons, incumbent representative (2001-2007)

Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Joe Courtney, former State Representative from the 56th district and nominee for lieutenant governor in 1998

General election

Results

District 3

Incumbent Democrat Rosa DeLauro faced Republican challenger Richter Elser and Green challenger in the election; DeLauro was re-elected by a margin of 36.04%.

Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Rosa DeLauro, incumbent representative (1991-)

Republican primary Candidates Nominee Richter Elser, restaurateur

Green primary Candidates Nominee Charles Pillsbury, mediator and lawyer

General Election

Results

District 4

Eight-term incumbent Republican Christopher Shays faced Democratic challenger Stephanie Sanchez in the election; Shays was re-elected with 64.4 percent of the vote, a 28.86% margin.

Republican primary Candidates Nominee Christopher Shays, incumbent representative (1987-2009)

Democratic primary Candidates Nominee Stephanie Sanchez, Greenwich selectwoman, and candidate for this seat in 2000

Write-in canadacies Candidates Nominee Carl E. Vassar, Libertarian nominee in 2000 for the 22nd state senate district

General election

Results

District 5

Incumbents Democratic Representative James H. Maloney and 6th district Representative Nancy L. Johnson were redistricted into a single district. Johnson defeated the Maloney with 54.25% of the vote, a 10.99% margin.

Predictions SourceRankingAs of New York Times October 14, 2002 Sabato's Crystal Ball(Flip) November 4, 2002

Republican primary Candidates Nominee Nancy L. Johnson, incumbent representative of the 6th district (1983-2007)

Democratic primary Candidates Nominee James H. Maloney, incumbent representative (1997-2003)

Concerned Citizens primary Candidates Nominee Joseph Zdonczyck, founder of the Concerned Citizens Party of Connecticut and three time gubernatorial nominee

Libertarian primary Candidates Nominee Waller Gengarelly, 1982 gubernatorial nominee

General election

Results

Notes

References