MA-03: Massachusetts Democrats Strain to Stand Out in Rare Open-Seat Race

[RandySF]

Voters in north-central Massachusetts will cast ballots Tuesday in one of the cycle’s most crowded primaries. Democratic Rep. Niki Tsongas is retiring after five full terms, creating a free-for-all for the 3rd District, the state’s only open seat this year.

The ten Democrats running include the first openly transgender person to run for Congress in Massachusetts, two candidates who immigrated to the United States as children, and a former ambassador whose experience as a gay diplomat was chronicled in a Danish television documentary. Winning the primary would be tantamount to victory in the heavily Democratic seat that Hillary Clinton carried by 23 points in 2016.

The sheer number of hopefuls in the Merrimack Valley district has made it difficult for any to stand out. That’s partly because they share many policy views. And almost all tout eye-catching résumés studded with the names of elite political figures and institutions.

Leading the pack in fundraising has been Daniel Koh, a former chief of staff to Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, who raised over $3 million through Aug. 15, the end of the pre-primary reporting period and had over $800,000 in the bank. Of Korean and Lebanese descent, Koh holds bachelor’s and MBA degrees from Harvard and could be the first Asian-American congressman from Massachusetts. He led the field in a recent UMass Lowell-Boston Globe poll, drawing 19 percent of support from likely voters.


https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/crowded-field-massachusetts-primary-means-tough-race

[smirkymonkey]

1. I'm really liking what I see and hear about Dan Koh.

He's very charismatic and comes across as a real leader on the right side of the issues. I think he could really go places.