BOSTON — A crowded field of Democrats will face off in the primary election to fill a rare vacancy in one of the state’s nine congressional districts.
The 6th Congressional District race pits six Democrats — Bethany Andres-Beck of Middleton, John Beccia of Lynnfield, Jamie Belsito of Topsfield, Dan Koh of Andover, Mariah Lancaster of Salem and Tram Nguyen of Andover — who are vying the party’s nomination to run for the open seat in November.
Early voting gets underway Saturday ahead of the Sept. 1 Democratic primary, but tens of thousands of voters have already cast their ballots through the mail.
The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Micah Jones, a U.S. Army veteran and lawyer from Essex, who is unopposed on the GOP primary ballot.
For months, the candidates — most of them political newcomers — have been crisscrossing the sprawling congressional district to make their pitches to voters at local party meetings, debates and community forums in an effort to lock down support ahead of the primary.
On the campaign trail, the congressional hopefuls have largely focused on key progressive issues for the party, lowering costs and improving affordability, universal healthcare, protections for LGBTQ and transgender individuals and reversing cuts in federal funding.
Internal polls released by several of the campaigns have shown a tight race, with large blocs of undecided voters. So far, there have been no independent polls.
The race for the 6th District comes amid increasing frustration among the Democratic electorate about the Trump administration’s divisive policies, and many of the Democratic candidates have tailored their campaigns around that message.
Most of all the candidates called for criminal investigations of Trump administration officials for financial crimes and for “abolishing” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over its aggressive deportation campaign.
But divisions in the Democratic Party that have become an issue for the party as it seeks to bring back control of Congress have also been on display in the race with several of the candidates expressing support for far-left policies that have created a rift between liberals and moderates in the party nationally.
While it’s not the only contested congressional primary on the Sept. 1 ballot, the race for the 6th District has been the most expensive of the election cycle.
Collectively, the candidates have raised more than $10 million, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures.
In the money race, Koh has vastly out-raised the others in the race, with more than $4.5 million in reported campaign contributions as of June 30, according to FEC filings
Beccia has reported more than $3.4 million in contributions, but nearly $3 million of that he loaned to his own campaign, FEC disclosures show.
The money has allowed both candidates to dominate the airwaves with political ads while other candidates in the race have struggled to get their message out amid lackluster fundraising. Early in the race, Democrat Rick Jakious ended his campaign citing — in part — the “significant wealth” needed to run for Congress.
The 6th Congressional District — which includes most of Essex County and eight towns in Middlesex — has about 640,000 voters, according to Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s office, nearly 60% of whom are registered as independent. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district by a wide margin.
Democrats have held the congressional seat since 1996, when Democrat John Tierney narrowly beat incumbent Republican Peter Torkildsen.
Moulton, who was reelected in 2024 to a fifth term, has held the congressional seat since 2014 after he ousted Tierney in a surprise victory in the Democrat primary, becoming the first challenger to defeat a sitting congressman from the same party in 22 years.
Christian M. Wade covers Massachusetts state government and politics for CNHI News and North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.