| | | | |  | | By Brakkton Booker | With help from Jesse Naranjo, Jesús Rodríguez, Ella Creamer, Rishika Dugyala and Teresa Wiltz
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POLITICO illustration/AP Photo | What up, Recast family! Liz Truss sets a record for the shortest-serving prime minister in British history, a federal appeals court rules that Atlanta-area prosecutors investigating Donald Trump can force Sen. Lindsey Graham to testify before a grand jury, plus a new Snapchat video of yours truly reporting from a marijuana dispensary! First, a chat with a Black Republican seeking to flip a House district in a deep-blue New England state. Republican George Logan has ousted a long-time Democrat once before and thinks he's got a shot at doing it again. The first time was in 2016 when, as a political newcomer, he toppled a Connecticut state senator who had held the seat for nearly a quarter-century. Now he's hoping predictions of a red wave will help him sail past two-term Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) in next month's midterms. Logan, 53, has caught the eye of national Republicans. In September, the NRCC named him one of the party's "Young Guns." And clearly they're invested: GOP-affiliated groups have spent more than $2.5 million on Logan's campaign in the 5th District, which hasn't elected a Republican since 2004. Earlier this month Steve Shepard, POLITICO's chief election forecaster, moved this contest from "Lean Democratic" to "Toss-Up." This is one of the few battleground House contests that feature a head-to-head matchup between two Black candidates. While Logan insists this contest is not about race, he is quick to point out this summer's kerfuffle over a tweet fired off by Connecticut Democrats. In the now-deleted tweet, state Democrats spoofed the "Curious George" children's books to allege Logan didn't live in the district he was seeking to represent. Critics accused Democrats of calling Logan a monkey , an old racist trope. The Connecticut Democratic Party says the original post was "misrepresented and is causing offense. For that, we're sorry. It's deleted." Not to let a good controversy go to waste, Logan cut a campaign spot blasting the tweet: "Democrat insiders are desperate," he says in the video. "They say you'll only vote for me because I'm Black … even comparing me to a monkey." I spoke with Logan Thursday afternoon during a break in debate prep for his second and final sparring match with Hayes later that evening. ◆◆◆ This interview has been edited for length and clarity. THE RECAST: I know you're talking to me in the midst of debate prep. Should I read this as you're not cramming for the test tonight, so to speak, and you are confident in your performance? LOGAN: I am very confident. I've been meeting with people in the district, all 41 towns. It's ingrained in me what the issues are and what resonates with me and the people in my district. So I feel very comfortable and confident that I will express that this evening. THE RECAST: Your contest is being looked at as the most competitive in Connecticut for sure. But it may even be the most competitive in all of New England as far as House races. I know Republicans have been eager to boost their representation in the region. What is your message to voters about why they should flip this to a red district, which it hasn't been in nearly two decades?
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Republican U.S. House candidate George Logan, right, speaks during a debate against Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, in Waterbury, Conn. | Jessica Hill/AP Photo | LOGAN: When we look at things like affordability and community safety, we have an opioid epidemic. Fentanyl — even here in Connecticut — is flooding our communities, parents feel boxed out of their children's education. And, you know, my opponent represents the status quo. She fully supports President Biden and Vice President Harris' agenda in Washington. She voted 100 percent in line with [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi's initiatives. Nancy Pelosi I just don't believe has the best interest of the families and the seniors and the veterans in the 5th Congressional District in mind. Everything that the current administration has touched has worsened, right. Again, whether it's the economy, whether it's safety, whether it's the crisis at our southern border, whether it's education. Our student reading comprehension scores in some of our more urban areas are at crisis levels. And we're not getting anything from my opponent in terms of what she is going to do to fix it. She's had a few years to do something about it.
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| Every week, we sit down with diverse and influential characters who are shaking up politics. Who should we profile next? Let us know. Email us at therecast@politico.com .
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THE RECAST: Just on the topic of the test scores, obviously, we're coming out of the throes of the pandemic.
But what is it that you specifically take issue with? Is it that she votes with her party way too much? Are you saying she shouldn't vote with her party at all? I mean, you're running in a pretty blue state. So should you win this congressional seat, are you saying you would not consider voting for any of the plans that Democrats put forward? | 
George Logan greets local youth at a Labor Day parade, Sept. 5, 2022, in Newtown, Conn. | Courtesy of George Logan for Congress | LOGAN: I want to go to Washington, not to satisfy the leaders of any political party, whether the Democratic leadership or the Republican leadership. I want to work with both Democrats and Republicans to solve our common problems. I want to be in the trenches negotiating to make sure that we pass good bills into law that's going to actually help the people of our district. When it comes to inflation, for example, I believe that these excessive spending packages coming out of Washington have hurt our communities. It's increased taxes, it's made the cost of everything from groceries to gas higher. And that's a problem. | 
| The Inflation Reduction Act hasn't reduced inflation, inflation is just getting worse. There's more in there about climate change than there is in terms of affordability issues and helping inflation. I would have preferred to have more of a commitment to American energy independence, for example. THE RECAST: More specifically, what are you seeing and hearing from voters that that gives you the indication that they want this type of change in the district? Again, if you win, you'd still be a red dot in a deep blue Connecticut. LOGAN: We're hopeful about taking back this seat. We're hopeful that we'll be successful in flipping the House of Representatives and removing Nancy Pelosi as speaker. That, I believe, will give me more of a voice, even as a freshman congressman. I won my state Senate seat for the first time in 2016. We managed to tie the Senate 18-18, an equal number of Republicans and Democrats. As a result, we passed some of the most fiscally responsible bills in Connecticut's modern history. That is, again, Democrats and Republicans working together. That's the type of attitude, that's the type of energy, and I plan to bring it down to Washington. | 
Former State Sen. George Logan, a Republican from Ansonia, speaks during opening session at the state Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017. | Jessica Hill/AP Photo | I believe that because of one-party rule, the Biden-Harris administration — already left of center to begin with — is being pulled even further to the left because of the ultra-liberal progressives, like [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez] and Rep. Ilhan Omar. I want to go down to Washington, bring some better checks and balances, and pull the Biden-Harris administration more towards the center. THE RECAST: Were you raised conservative? Did your family talk a lot about politics with you while you were growing up? LOGAN: I'm the son of immigrants. Three of my grandparents were born in Jamaica, one was born in Nicaragua. My grandparents moved to Guatemala in Central America and my parents were born in the 1930s. They were born and raised in Guatemala. They emigrated to the United States in the mid-1960s. I was born in Connecticut. My parents always stressed the importance of hard work and how to stretch a dollar. My parents' whole focus was on their children and us getting an education and getting a job. | 
Republican U.S. House candidate George Logan speaks during a debate against Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, in Waterbury, Conn. | Jessica Hill/AP Photo | I voted in every election that I possibly could since I was 18 years old, local, presidential. And I was an unaffiliated voter, probably for my first 20 years of voting. But after a while, I took a look around and said, "You know, I don't like what's going on here in Connecticut" as a homeowner, trying to raise a family, and I was getting just pressed with property taxes climbing and everything becoming more expensive. So I looked at the state and who was representing me at the time and I asked myself, "Why do we keep paying people to [go to] Hartford?" I figured other people have to throw their hat in the ring. So that's what I did. I flipped a blue Senate District, one that had a Democrat representing it for 12 consecutive terms — that's 24 years. I had pretty much a similar message in terms of affordability and community safety and won by the slightest of margins. THE RECAST: And what was your take away from that victory? LOGAN: I believe that the Democrat Party leadership, again, not all Democrats, the Democratic Party leadership here in Connecticut and in Washington, are out of touch. I believe that most folks, especially when we talk about the Spanish-speaking, Hispanic community, and African American unity, are more conservative-leaning in terms of family values, in terms of education, in terms of hard work. The Republican Party is doing more here at state level and nationally to bring our message of free enterprise, truly equal opportunity, to areas where we hadn't proactively made that effort before.
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| THE RECAST: So you are saying that voters of color are wanting at last an alternative voice to what they're being offered. But what role do you think race is playing in your contest? After all, you are in one of the few competitive battleground districts where both nominees for the House seat are Black. LOGAN: Look, I haven't brought race into our campaign, initially. For me, this is about the issues. Unfortunately, the Democrat leadership here in Connecticut and the DCCC at the national level brought race into this contest. The Democrats put out on social media comparing me to a monkey, right? THE RECAST: This is the Curious George tweet? LOGAN: Yes, yes. And only once there was a public outcry around that [did they finally take it down]. When I say outcry, I mean, actually, Black Democrat legislators started crying out, Black and Hispanic residents are crying out that they must take it down. My opponent retweeted that social media message. | 
Mark Pazniokas/CTMirror.org, used with permission |
I just don't think it's in anyone's best interest to denigrate any candidate because of their party affiliation, or to denigrate them because of their opinions or views ever being conservative. But, you know, I'm a fighter. I don't back down from my values and what I'm trying to accomplish.
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OK, fam, it's time to cheer, because the weekend is here! Before we wrap things up, some quick news items and pop culture pick-me-ups.
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Ye, better known as Kanye West, announced earlier this week that he's in the process of buying Parler. | Michael Wyke/AP Photo | Through the wire — POLITICO's Meridith McGraw, Jordain Carney and Rebecca Kern detail how executives at the conservative-leaning social media app Parler, in a rush to announce Ye, better known as Kanye West, was purchasing the controversial app, inadvertently revealed the contact info of lawmakers and conservative stars. Is Alaska a national bellwether? — That's the question POLITICO's David Siders tackles regarding Alaska's at-large House district , recently flipped by Rep. Mary Peltola , a Democrat. Weed on the Trail — This week I profiled gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore , exploring why some forecast that the Maryland Democrat could be a shoo-in for the White House. My coverage took me somewhere I've never ventured to in my career as a political reporter: a marijuana dispensary .
|  | Atlantic writer and former ESPN star Jemele Hill pens a memoir , out Tuesday. " Descendant ," a Sundance Award-winning documentary uncovering the story of the Clotilda — the last slave ship to smuggle enslaved Africans to the U.S. — comes out today on Netflix. It was produced by Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground. Franny Choi's striking new poem, " Look ," has us excited for her apocalypse-themed collection landing in November. R&B artist Joyce Wrice kills it at her debut Tiny Desk Concert .
|  | Don't miss " Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes ," which celebrates the life of the most-recorded jazz bassist in history (2,221 sessions!). Save the date: Trevor Noah returns to Netflix for a standup special on November 22 . If you're in search of some Halloween horror, look no further than "Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities," an anthology series debuting Tuesday on Netflix . Watch as Shakira's heart is shot out of her chest at the grocery store — we're not joking — in honor of her new record, " Monotonía ," with Ozuna. (Note: Skip if you're squeamish!) |  |
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