The Hill’s 2012 New Members Guide

Rep.-elect Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.-05)

DATE OF BIRTH: Aug. 25, 1959

BIRTHPLACE: Oak Park, Ill.

RESIDENCE: Cheshire, Conn.

OCCUPATION: Lawyer

EDUCATION: B.A., Harvard; J.D. Yale

PREVIOUS OFFICE HELD: Connecticut House of Representatives (2009-2011), Cheshire Town Council (2005-2008)

FAMILY: Husband, Dan; three children

A former professor and attorney, Elizabeth Esty was not the Democratic Party’s first choice to fill the open 5th district seat.  

She won election after Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) gave up the seat to run for Senate. The party and labor organizations originally backed her Democratic primary challenger, but her opponent soon became entangled in a campaign finance scandal, and Esty won the Democratic nomination. 

Esty has a background in the medical field. She mentions her volunteer work with Planned Parenthood on her website.  She worked as researcher at Yale law school, specializing in healthcare policy and has drafted Supreme Court briefs for medical providers.

After graduating from Harvard, Esty received her law degree from Yale. She has previously worked as a professor at American University and clerked for a federal judge.

Voters elected Esty to the Connecticut House in 2008, but she lost reelection after two years.