SWAMPSCOTT — Democrats running in the North Shore’s wide-open congressional race touted at a Thursday-night candidate forum their plans for addressing voters’ affordability concerns and shared their views on the influence of special interest money in politics, U.S. support for Israel and the Trump administration’s policies.
Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton’s decision to run for U.S. Senate has created a rare opening in the 6th 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 Thursday night’s forum at Swampscott High School, hosted by the Democratic town committees of Marblehead, Swampscott and Salem, the candidates were peppered with questions by moderators on key issues for party and the district’s next representative in Congress.
Moderators polled each of the six candidates about whether they will reject corporate money influence as part of their campaigns and what they would do to ensure that the region’s voters are well represented in Congress, noting recent polls showing many people have lost confidence in the federal government.
“We need people to go in there and lead with moral clarity,” Democratic state Rep. Tram Nguyen, of Andover, said when asked what she would do to better represent the district in Congress. “People don’t want political messaging. They want results. They want to feel like government is working for them.”
Lynnfield attorney and businessman John Beccia said he’s not taking PAC money in his first run for elected office, and pointed out that he has self-funded a large portion of the $2.4 million his campaign has reported to date.
“But money doesn’t buy you an election …” said Beccia, a co-founder and chairman of a Washington, D.C.-based consulting and lobbying firm. “We have six good candidates at this table and the voters will ultimately decide who is the best candidate. The problem is people accepting third-party money … we need more transparency.”
Former state Rep. Jamie Belsito, a Topsfield Democrat, pointed out that her campaign has urged others in the race to take “The People’s Pledge” and commit to rejecting money from political action committees, or PACs, and corporations. She said the congressional race is already awash with super PAC money.
“I am not taking PAC money because this district is bought and paid for by outside influences,” she said. “I want to represent you.”
Mariah Lancaster, a Salem veterinarian and former State Department official, said she also isn’t seeking super PAC money as she first run for elected office.
“I think it’s really important that people be at the center of campaigns,” she said, citing her opposition to the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling that authorized unlimited corporate donations. “There is no higher priority to restore our democracy than to have aggressive campaign finance reform.”
All six Democrats said they are willing to release their income tax returns ahead of the election to provide more details about their personal finances to the voters.
Support for Israel is another issue dividing Democrats nationally, with progressive members of the party arguing that the U.S. shouldn’t be supporting the Israeli government’s military action against Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Several candidates referred to Israel’s military campaigns as a “genocide” against the Palestinian people.
Bethany Andres-Beck, a software engineer and activist from Middleton, supports U.S. aid Israel and “every other country,” but said it should be conditional on whether it’s “furthering American interests” and “supports our values.
“And I do not believe that American values are genocide. I do not believe that American values are conflict,” she said. “I believe that we could invest in peace.”
Dan Koh, a former Biden administration official, said US support for the Israeli government military campaigns in the Middle East is a “personal issue” for him as a Lebanese-American. He pointed to Israel’s recent bombing campaign in Beirut targeting Hezbollah fighters, which killed hundreds of civilians.
“I’ve been talking to my family members there who wake up every day wondering if it would be their last,” he said. “It’s horrifying … the severity and loss of civilian life.”
But Koh also acknowledged the backlash against Jewish Americans following Israel’s war against Hamas, and said outrage over the conflict “doesn’t excuse” the rise of antisemitism.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.