United States Representative
August 11, 2026 · Congressional District 1 (119th Congress), Connecticut · U.S. House district · primary
How do we calculate vote impact?
Vote impact = representation (how much weight one vote carries here, the smaller the district's population, the higher the representation) + decisiveness (how likely this race is to be close, based on past results and number of candidates).
Representation: Average · 55 out of 100
This district is mid-sized for its type, so each vote carries average weight. About 721,392 people live here.
score = 100 × ln(largest population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(largest ÷ smallest), rounded to 2 decimals = 100 × ln(1,021,191 ÷ 721,392) ÷ ln(1,021,191 ÷ 546,488) = 55.59, comparing all US House districts nationwide (grades: 66+ high, 33+ average, otherwise low)
Decisiveness: Unknown
No past results for this contest yet.
Average representation + unknown decisiveness → Average vote impact.
Some data is missing, so this rating is based on partial information and capped at "High".
United States Representative is responsible for:
- Voting on federal laws, taxes, and the federal budget
- Representing their district's interests in Congress
- Starting tax and spending bills, which must begin in the House
- Helping district residents deal with federal agencies
Affected Areas: Environment and Public Health, Reduce Wealth Gap, Anti-Corruption, Government Efficiency, Healthcare Affordability, Immigration, Government Spending Reduction, Social Programs and Welfare, Gun Control, Women's Reproductive Rights, National Defense, Personal Income Tax Reduction, Foreign Trade, Data Privacy, Civil Rights, Corporate Accountability, Public Infrastructure, Peaceful Foreign Policy
Candidates
Jillian Gilchrest
Democratic · declared
Jillian Gilchrest is a social worker and Connecticut State Representative for the 18th District in West Hartford, first elected in 2018. In the General Assembly she chairs the Human Services Committee and serves on the Appropriations, Public Health, and Judiciary committees. Before entering the legislature she was executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut, director of health professional outreach for the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and director of policy and communications for the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence, and she served on the West Hartford Board of Education. She earned a B.A. from the University of Connecticut and a master's in social work from the UConn School of Social Work, and teaches at area universities.
John Larson
Democratic · Incumbent · declared
John Barry Larson has represented Connecticut's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House since 1999. He serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, where he is the ranking member of its Social Security Subcommittee and a longtime advocate of expanding Social Security benefits. Before Congress he was a high school history teacher and coach, co-owned an insurance agency in East Hartford, and served in the Connecticut State Senate from 1983 to 1995, including four terms as Senate President pro tempore. Raised in an East Hartford public housing project with seven siblings, he earned a bachelor's degree from Central Connecticut State University.
Luke Bronin
Democratic · declared
Luke Bronin is a lawyer who served as the 67th mayor of Hartford, Connecticut, from 2016 to 2024. He was previously general counsel to Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy and held two senior U.S. Treasury Department posts during the Obama administration, including deputy assistant secretary of the treasury for terrorist financing and financial crimes. An officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, he deployed to Afghanistan, where he was assigned to an anti-corruption task force. He is a father of three.
Records: Anti-Corruption 6 for, Civil Rights 17 for, Environment and Public Health 13 for, Foreign Trade 1 for, Government Efficiency 19 for, Government Spending Reduction 8 for, Gun Control 4 for, Healthcare Affordability 8 for, Immigration 2 for, National Defense 6 for, Public Infrastructure 11 for, Reduce Wealth Gap 16 for, Social Programs and Welfare 25 for
Ruth Fortune
Democratic · declared
Ruth Fortune is an attorney and a member of the Hartford Board of Education. Born in Haiti, she moved to the United States with her family at age twelve, initially sharing a bedroom among eight relatives, and lived undocumented for about a decade until the Obama administration granted Temporary Protected Status to Haitians after the 2010 earthquake, months before she graduated from college. Her policy interests include ballot access reform, raising the federal minimum wage, and comprehensive immigration reform.
Election sources
Source: portal.ct.gov
Source: portal.ct.gov
Source: ctinsider.com