SALEM — Democrats running in the wide-open 6th Congressional District race shared their plans Wednesday night for lowering the state’s high cost of living, addressing the housing crisis and standing up to the Trump administration.
Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton’s decision to run for U.S. Senate has created a rare opening in the North Shore congressional district — which includes most of Essex County and eight towns in Middlesex County — and a crowded field of six hopefuls are vying for the party’s nomination.
The winner of the Sept. 1 primary will face Republican Micah Jones, an Essex lawyer and U.S. Army veteran, in the Nov. 3 midterm election. Jones is running unopposed.
At Wednesday night’s forum, hosted by Salem State University’s Frederick E. Berry Institute of Politics, candidates were peppered with questions by moderator Alison King on key issues for the Democratic party and the district’s next representative in Congress.
A key issue in the debate was bipartisanship. The Democrats were asked whether they were willing to work with Republicans in Congress on issues of common interest and concern such as housing and regulating artificial intelligence platforms.
Dan Koh, a former Biden administration official, said if Democrats take back the House and Senate in the midterm elections they should push through their agenda in Congress, not be looking to work with Republicans. He said “now is not the time to be playing tag team with MAGA.”
“I don’t really care what the people who voted to defund our schools, defund our food, or take away our health care, think about the Democratic agenda,” he said. “If there’s good legislation on housing that Republicans want to vote with us on, great. But it is our time to take our country back.”
State Rep. Tram Nguyen, of Andover, said Democrats will still need to “work with people across the aisle” to get legislation passed, even if they win back both chambers during Donald Trump’s last two years in office.
“I’m willing to work with anyone is willing to work with me to deliver the priorities for this district,” Nguyen said, noting that she has worked with GOP lawmakers on bipartisan bills during her four terms in the state House of Representatives.
Mariah Lancaster, a Salem veterinarian and former State Department official, said Democrats will need Republican votes in Congress to forward their agenda.
“Whether that’s renewable energy projects or investing in climate resiliency, all of these things will take Republican votes, especially in the Senate,” she said. “To assume that we won’t is just ignorant.”
Lynnfield attorney and businessman John Beccia said Democrats are “right to be angry” about the Trump agenda, but they still need to “get things done” by working across the political aisle with Republican lawmakers.
“We’ve got to work together on a bipartisan basis,” he said. “There’s a time to fight and a time to find common ground. We can find common ground on things that matter are most people.”
Jamie Belsito, of Topsfield, said she is also willing to work with Republicans but pointed out that the political division in Washington run deep, and that Massachusetts Democrats don’t have a track record of bipartisanship.
“We cannot say that we know how to work bipartisan politics in freaking Massachusetts, let’s be honest friends,” the former state lawmaker said. “When I was in the House it was a supermajority for Democrats and they didn’t get along.”
Candidates were also asked during a “lightning round” of questions to share their views on raising the minimum retirement age to claim Social Security benefits (none supported it), who their political role model was, their favorite Boston sports franchise and their favorite local restaurant.
None of the candidates said they support voter ID for elections, which had been pushed by Republicans in the state and nationally over concerns about voter fraud. Recent polls show a majority of voters support requiring proof of identity to cast ballots.
All of the Democrats said they support “abolishing” the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agency amid nationwide concerns that the federal agency is using aggressive tactics to apprehend and deport undocumented immigrants. They also all said they support “universal health care” for Americans.
Most of the candidates said they are backing incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, who is seeking a fourth term amid a challenge from Moulton that has divided the state’s Democrats. Koh said he was undecided. Beccia “abstained” from the question.
There weren’t many fireworks between the candidates at Wednesday’s debate, but Belsito got into a testy exchange with Koh after she subtly suggested his father — Dr. Howard Koh, a prominent physician who served as Assistant Secretary for Health during the Obama administration — has helped propel his political ambitions in Washington.
“Respectfully, I think we should leave parents out of this conversation,” Koh said. “I am proud of my dad to be a public health champion for this world and I think every single person here would agree that family should be left out of personal attacks.”