In the 413’s Democratic Primary, Now Arriving at Incumbent Land…
UPDATED 9:54PM: To include Coryat’s concession to Wondolowski in the 1st Franklin district.
Neal triumphant. (WMP&I)
SPRINGFIELD—The Democratic primary in Massachusetts left the federal delegation’s deans in place. Congressman Richard Neal and US Senator Ed Markey, both facing primary challenges, beat back their opposition, consisting of younger and often leftier challengers. Down ballot, incumbency was just as effective as a tool for reelection.
Markey faced Salem Congressman Seth Moulton who made rather overt references to their age disparity—Markey is 80 and Moulton is 46. However, an orchestra of factors, some his own doing, acted in concert to deprive Moulton of victory. Neal stared down educator Jeromie Whalen, powering a comfortable margin with solid results in (most of) the urban centers.
Neal will face independent Nadia Milleron in the general election. Markey faces Republican businessman John Deaton in November.
From a Western Mass perspective, it was the night of the incumbent. In addition to Markey and Neal, the 413’s contested races all went to incumbents.
Governor’s Councilor Tara Jacobs triumphed over Springfield City Councilor Michael Fenton. Rep John Barrett of the 1st Berkshire District defeated North Adams City Councilor Andrew Fitch. In the 5th Hampden, Rep. Patricia Duffy turned back consultant Dori Dean. Angelo Puppolo, the 12th Hampden Rep, coasted to victory over newcomer Michael Lachenmeyer.
The rep race that had received the most attention, and certainly most money ,was in the 11th Hampden. Incumbent Rep Bud Williams hung on with less than 45% of the vote, thanks in part to a fractured opposition. His opponent last time, educator Johnnie McKnight, had returned for a rematch. However, he had been joined by community activist Nicole Coakley, which split the vote against Williams.
The only race that remained uncertain had been the 1st Franklin. Vacant since Natalie Blais resigned to take another job, Greenfield City Council President Lora Wondolowski was narrowly ahead of Corinne Coryat, Blais’s former aide. On Wednesday, with all votes in, Wondolowski was up 95 votes. Coryat conceded in the evening.
The congressional race stood out, in part, for how long it took before it was called. Decision Desk, an election aggregator, called it just after 10:30PM. WMP&I called the race at 10:58PM. At about the same time, NBC called the race.
The reason for the delay was a combination of random reporting from the district’s 83 cities and towns and the unpredictability of the results.
Massachusetts’s 1st Congressional district covers Berkshire and Hampden counties, the western fringes of Franklin County, the western and southern edges of Hampshire counties and the southwestern edge of Worcester County.
Still Neal. (via Wikipedia)
Neal stomped in Springfield and its suburbs, but also secured a string of Berkshire County cities and towns. Locked out of a decisive win in the Berkshires, Whalen’s path narrowed considerably. Whalen won the largest Hampshire County towns in the district and, randomly, Holyoke as well.
The incumbent, who will become the chairman of the Ways & Means Committee if Democrats take the House, arrived to his victory party at the Cedars in East Forest Park at about 11:00 PM. A crowd of political supporters, luminaries, staffers past and present, and family cheered as he took the stage flanked by his grandchildren.
Neal’s daughter, Maura, introduced him and he opened his remarks with a thanks to family for their sacrifices.
“So when I was asked today by a reporter who said to me, ‘Who’d you vote for?’ I said, ‘I voted for my grandchildren,’” the congressman said.
Whalen had called him about 30 minutes before to concede. WAMC posted Whalen giving a non-concession speech short before his and Neal’s call. However, around midnight, Whalen confirmed his concession.
Neal thanked his supporters and the voters before describing the breadth of work undertaken for families across the district. He also delved into his work leading Ways & Means. Locally, he highlighted the reopening of North Adams Hospital and new veterans facility in Holyoke. Among national impacts, Neal highlighted the American Rescue Plan Act, the infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act.
He laid out his plans should reacquire the gavel after the elections in November, including restoring health subsides, reversing healthcare and food stamp cuts and restoring the green agenda that Donald Trump has cut and defending Social Security. Taxation is part of Ways & Means’s remit and Neal put a target on Trump’s tax bill.
“A tax bill that overwhelmingly went to people at the top, and they did it by taking away from nutrition programs, taking away from our hospitals to justify what they did,” he said. “That should not stand, and we intend to fight that as well.”
In contrast to Neal’s race, Senator Markey was declare the winner early on. With some towns yet to report, Markey secured a 30-point victory over Congressman Moulton.
Moulton’s concession statement circulated to reporters shortly before 9:30PM.
“I am proud of everything this campaign stood for. I am proud of all the work I have done in Congress. And I am forever proud to call Massachusetts home,” Moulton said in his statement. “We didn’t achieve our goal tonight, but I am confident that because of this campaign others will be inspired to buck the system when they’re told to ‘wait their turn.”
By challenging Markey, Moulton vacated his seat. Former White House staffer Daniel Koh won the Democratic nomination. Like Markey, Koh faces a general election opponent. However, it is likely they and Democrats generally will prevail in all of Massachusetts’s statewide and congressional races this year.
For Markey, this was the second time he beat back a younger challenger. While he successfully argued to voters that he should keep his job, in his victory remarks, the senator acknowledged young people’s vision for the future.
“Generational change isn’t about compromising to do the small things better; it is about fighting to do the big things the best,” he said.