Teacher Of The Year Wins Democratic Primary!

Jahana Hayes, a former Teacher of The Year could become the first African American woman to win a U.S. House seat in New England.

Democratic lawmaker Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) is retiring from the House of Representatives. Her seat represents Newtown, Connecticut the community rocked by a mass shooting in December 2012. Esty is resigning from Congress after her chief of staff faced accusations of sexual harassment and used threats of violence against staffers. She ignored the concerns and even wrote a letter of recommendation for him.

She would later remove him but the scandal hurt her chances for winning and the Democrats wanted her to bounce. 

The Democrats endorsed establishment candidate Mary Glassman.

Glassman was considered a safe choice for the district. The progressives weren't having none of that. They wanted someone who could shake up Washington. 

When it came down to the primaries, the progressives sought a candidate that got the endorsement of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Democratic congressional nominee who rocked the political scale by beating Rep. Joe Crawley (D-NY) in a surprise primary win.

Now her seat is in play and the Democrats are hopeful that Jahana Hayes could succeed. 

Hayes is a former National Teacher of the Year.

Hayes, 46, was thought to be a long-shot in the contest against Glassman, a longtime local Democratic politician in the Western Connecticut region. But she embraced her status as an underdog, melding her life story — growing up in Waterbury, she went through homelessness, a teen pregnancy and economic hardship — into her campaign.

She will face Republican Manny Santos, former mayor of Meriden, in November.

If she wins, Hayes will make history as the first black woman to win a Connecticut congressional seat as well as the first black congresswoman from New England. 

"When we started this campaign a little more than 100 days ago, we had no organization and no network," Hayes said. "People told us we had no chance and no business trying to upset the status quo. And tonight, we proved them wrong."

Hayes already has a fundraising advantage, as she had about $360,000 cash on hand by July 25. Santos, on the other hand, had less than $500 after accounting for a campaign debt.