Viral Video Vaults Jahana Hayes, First-Time Candidate For Congress In Connecticut, Onto National Stage
Jahana Hayes, candidate for the 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House. Photo courtesy of Jahana Hayes for U.S. Congress/Facebook
A liberal social media company has helped propel a first-time candidate for Congress in Connecticut to national attention. A video introducing Waterbury educator and 2016 national Teacher of the Year, Jahana Hayes, has gone viral with more than 5.5 million views since its release last Thursday.
The video, shared by the liberal news company NowThis, is called “Truth to Power.”
It’s had 5 million views and 92,000 shares on Facebook, and 494,000 views on Twitter since Saturday when it was posted by NowThis. Hayes says she was hoping for a buzz, but this is exceptional.
“I mean there was no donation link or anything, it was just to introduce myself. I think people from all over the country were reaching out to the friends and family in Connecticut saying, ‘Have you seen this candidate? Have you heard of her?’ And it really did exactly what it was supposed to do, and that was to introduce me to people.”
She says now there are donations pouring into her campaign from all over the country.
“I think it’s good for me because most other states have already had their primaries and there is a finite amount of money in this 5th District, and we have so many people running.”
UConn Political Scientist Ron Schurin says he’s not surprised by the buzz.
“Well, there are a couple of races around the country that just seem to attract national interest, such as the race in New York where an insurgent defeated incumbent Congressman Crowley. Maybe this is one of them. And again this speaks to the level of enthusiasm about the race, and perhaps to the quality of the video.”
Hayes is facing Party-endorsed candidate former Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman in the August 14th Democratic primary for the open seat. Glassman already has a campaign ad running on local TV.