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, depriving younger and often leftier challengers before primaries conclude this month. Down ballot, however, incumbency was less effective as tool for reelection.
CHICOPEE—The first and only face-to-face debate in the 1st Congressional District’s Democratic primary saw some heat and a bevy of accusations. US Representative Richard Neal and challenger Jeromie Whalen, an educator from South Hadley, traded blows on healthcare, Social Security and, arguably, the very essence of the democratic process itself.
As primary season rolls to a close, the action on the campaign finance side of the races begins to ramp up.
Second quarter reports became available on July 15. Candidates for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Massachusetts Congressional race hit the airwaves in July, after the deadline for the second quarter report. The second three months of 2026 also saw another kind of financial report: the candidates’ personal financial disclosures.
Springfield Congressman Richard Neal is facing a primary challenge from Jeromie Whalen, a teacher who lives in South Hadley. Whalen has tried to harness ubiquity to overcome Neals’ advantages like fundraising. In the final quarter of 2025, Neal raised nearly ten times as much as Whalen.
After a two-cycle reprieve, Springfield Congressman Richard Neal, the top Dem on one of Congress’s most powerful committees, will face a primary. Teacher Jeromie Whalen made the local media rounds this past week, confirming speculation that had been percolating at least since spring.