Connecticut's congressional districts

Long severed from the wealthier and more moderate Hartford suburbs in the Farmington Valley, the 1st district is reliably and strongly Democratic.

Larson's victory resurrected a political career temporarily suspended by a crushing defeat in the 1994 Democratic primary for Governor, in which he lost to comptroller Bill Curry, despite receiving the endorsement of the state party convention.

In 2006, former Democratic state representative Joe Courtney of Vernon defeated popular incumbent Republican Rob Simmons by a razor-thin margin of 83 votes.

The New Haven area retains an overwhelmingly Democratic heritage for the most part, although Republicans have made significant successful inroads in the communities of the suburbs.

Before being elected in 1990, DeLauro worked as a political activist for liberal causes and an influential fundraiser for state and national Democrats, serving as chief of staff to Senator Chris Dodd and Executive Director of EMILY's List, a pro-choice PAC.

While Republicans almost captured the 1990 open seat being vacated by Bruce Morrison in his unsuccessful campaign for Governor, and had actually held it for one term in the 1980s, the 3rd district has become more Democratic since the Bill Clinton years.

The 4th district is the political region of Connecticut's famous "Gold Coast"—the string of prosperous towns and cities along the shore of Fairfield County, home of many very wealthy Manhattan business elite and celebrities.

The district has a long history of moderate and independent Congressmen, with Shays succeeding Representatives such as Stewart McKinney (who had died from AIDS, in 1987) and Lowell P. Weicker (who became estranged from the Republican Party following his service on the Senate Watergate Committee).

Shays, widely regarded as a social moderate, fended off strong challenges from Westport Selectman Diane Farrell in 2004 and 2006, before local demographic shifts and a national mood favoring Democratic candidates resulted in his narrow defeat.

The district was designed as the result of a compromise among the redistricting committee as an evenly divided territory into which a Republican and a Democratic incumbent were both drawn.

In the presidential politics the district is the most amenable in the state to backing Republicans, as it voted slightly for John Kerry in 2004 and Al Gore in 2000, but on the whole provides both parties with no overwhelming advantage.

The suburbs of Waterbury, the small towns in Litchfield County, and the Farmington Valley are all traditionally Republican and generally conservative outposts.

Prior to the 2006 election, Murphy moved across the border to the 5th district town of Cheshire, and scored a 56–44% upset victory against 24-year Republican incumbent Nancy L. Johnson of New Britain.