Massachusetts primary offers late-game litmus test for Democrats
Key races in the Bay State include an aging senator taking on a centrist challenger and an insurgent progressive hoping to topple a controversial U.S. representative.
(CN) — As left-wing newcomers are breaking ground in Democratic primaries around the country, a trio of competitive congressional races in Massachusetts on Sept. 1 come at a pivotal time for a party searching for its post-Trump identity.
At the top of the ticket, aging progressive Ed Markey is looking to hold onto his Senate seat by warding off moderate challenger Seth Moulton, who represents Massachusetts’ 6th District in the House of Representatives.
That means Moulton’s seat is up for the taking, and a crowded field of six challengers are fighting to distance themselves from the pack in one of the wealthiest and most educated districts in the country.
In the 8th District, progressive attorney Patrick Roath hopes to unseat Stephen Lynch, who has held his seat for more than two decades as perhaps the most conservative me…