Joe Courtney

Joseph Darren Courtney (born April 6, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Connecticut's 2nd congressional district since 2007.

His district encompasses most of the eastern third of the state, including Norwich and New London.

In 1975, he graduated from Tufts University.

He earned a J.D. degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1978.

After graduating from law school, Courtney worked as a public defender for three years.

He became a partner in the law firm Flaherty, Meisler and Courtney, and also served as Town Attorney in Vernon, Connecticut, where he lives.

A member of the Democratic Party, Courtney served as the Connecticut state representative for the 56th district from 1987 to 1995 and Vernon town attorney from 2003 until 2006.

Courtney grew up in suburban Hartford.

From 1987 to 1994, Courtney served in the Connecticut House of Representatives, representing Connecticut's 56th district.

He chaired the Public Health and Human Service Committee and oversaw the Blue Ribbon Commission on Universal Health Insurance.

In 1994, Connecticut Magazine honored him for his bipartisan efforts in the state house.

In 1998, after four years out of office, Courtney made an unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor.

Courtney did not announce his candidacy or raise money until September 2001; by that time, Simmons had more than $500,000 in campaign funding.

Simmons defeated Courtney in the November election, 54% to 46%.

In 2002, he ran for Congress against incumbent Republican Rob Simmons.

Courtney challenged Simmons again in 2006, in a race that political strategists projected would be very close.

Courtney was declared the winner on Election Day; initial tallies showed him ahead by 167 votes, out of more than 242,000 votes.

Under Connecticut law the race qualified for an automatic re-canvass because the winning margin was less than 0.5%.

When the recount concluded on November 14, Courtney had 91 votes more than Simmons.

The Washington Post later said that the final margin was 83 votes.

It was the tightest congressional race of 2006.

Courtney's 2008 Republican challenger was the former commanding officer of the Naval Submarine Base New London, Sean Sullivan.

Courtney won the election by a two-to-one margin.

On May 21, 2008, Courtney announced his endorsement of then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama for president.

Courtney was reelected, defeating Republican Janet Peckinpaugh, Green Party nominee Scott Deshefy, and Libertarian Party write-in Dan Reale.

Courtney defeated Republican Lori Hopkins-Cavanagh, a business owner and radio show host from New London, Connecticut.

In August 2009, Courtney was criticized for holding a teleconference with voters about health care instead of an in-person town hall.

Richard Hanley, graduate journalism director at Quinnipiac University, complained that part of Courtney's job "is to wade into the muck of the process as it is, not as we would like it to be."

Courtney has branded himself as bipartisan and has blamed various government crises on failure to "support a real compromise."

In 2012, he said that though recent budget cuts to education were a "little heavy" and the Budget Control Act "ham-handed," he voted for them in a spirit of compromise.

"It took guys like me to cross the aisle and make sure we didn't fall off the tracks there as a country," Courtney said.

After seeing Steven Spielberg's film Lincoln in February 2013, Courtney wrote Spielberg a letter pointing out that although the film showed Connecticut House members voting against the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, in fact the state's entire congressional delegation had supported the amendment.

He asked Spielberg for some kind of acknowledgment of the error, perhaps on the DVD.

"It's important that people be aware who saw this movie that we were a state that lost soldiers, were staunch supporters of Lincoln in both elections and, in the case of the Democrat from New Haven, actually voted against his party in support of the amendment," said Courtney, who made his letter public.

In 2016, Courtney defeated Republican Daria Novak, Green Party candidate Jonathan Pelto and Libertarian Dan Reale.

Novak co-hosted a weekly cable television show, "American Political Zone", and a nationally syndicated radio show, "Vernuccio-Novak Report."

In April 2018, Dan Postemski, an Iraq War veteran and chair of the Hampton Republican Town Committee, announced his plans to challenge Courtney in the 2018 election.

Postemski said that he wanted "to bring common sense to budgeting" and that he was "a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment" and would "fight to the death to save it."

In a reference to Courtney's participation in a gun-control sit-in, Postemski said, "Joe Courtney has literally sat down on the job, right on the floor of the House. That’s not how a leader makes change."

Courtney was reelected by more than 20 points.