Connecticut, state, United States: Government, Politics, and Higher Education

Connecticut's state senate has 36 members and its house of representatives has 151; members of both houses are elected for two-year terms. The state executive branch is headed by a governor elected for a term of four years. Connecticut's counties have lost most of their governmental functions to the state's towns and cities. Democrats dominated state politics from the mid-1930s through 1990, when former Republican Lowell Weicker was elected governor running on the ACP (A Connecticut Party) ticket (1990-94); he was followed by another Republican, John G. Rowland. Connecticut is represented in the U.S. Congress by five representatives and two senators and has seven electoral votes.

Institutions of higher learning in Connecticut include Yale Univ., at New Haven; Trinity College, at Hartford; Wesleyan Univ., at Middletown; the Univ. of Connecticut, at Storrs; and the United States Coast Guard Academy and Connecticut College, at New London.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Wars and Industrial Expansion
• Early Manufacturing
• The New England Confederation
• Dutch and English Exploration and Settlement
• Government, Politics, and Higher Education
• Economy
• Geography
• Facts and Figures
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography