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Salem veterinarian Mariah Lancaster ended their campaign for the 6th Congressional District on Saturday and endorsed state Rep. Tram Nguyen of Andover, narrowing the active Democratic field to five three days before the Sept. 1 primary.
Lancaster said in a news release issued by Nguyen's campaign that they were stepping aside to consolidate support behind the strongest progressive still running.
"This is the election of a generation and, in the final days of this race, we must come together to ensure the Sixth District is represented by someone who will champion our progressive values," Lancaster said. "I have always promised the voters of this district that I would do what is right, even when it's hard. I thank each and every one of my supporters from the bottom of my heart, and I humbly ask you to join me in supporting Tram Nguyen."
Lancaster is scheduled to appear with Nguyen on Sunday at a rally and canvass kickoff in Salem, joined by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and U.S. Reps. Lori Trahan and Ayanna Pressley.
Five Democrats are still campaigning: Nguyen, the only sitting officeholder in the field; Dan Koh of Andover, a former chief of staff to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and a former Labor Department and White House official; John Beccia of Lynnfield, an attorney who helped build the cryptocurrency firm Circle; Jamie Belsito of Topsfield, a former state representative and the town's moderator; and Bethany Andres-Beck of Middleton, a software engineer who was the first candidate into the race.
The endorsement lands after days of voting have already happened. Statistics from the secretary of the commonwealth's office show 499,952 ballots cast statewide through Friday — 431,760 mail ballots returned and 68,192 cast in person during early voting — or about 9.6 percent of registered voters. The pace has been faster on the North Shore than in the state as a whole. Marblehead had recorded 2,375 ballots by Friday, a turnout of 13.9 percent. Salem, where Lancaster lives, had 3,331; Andover, home to both Nguyen and rival Dan Koh, had 3,624. The state figures cover every primary on Tuesday's ballot and are not broken out by party or district.
Lancaster's name will still appear on Tuesday's ballot, and votes already cast for the campaign will be counted.
Nguyen thanked Lancaster and framed the endorsement as evidence of a widening coalition in the campaign's closing days.
"I am grateful to Mariah for their support of our campaign," Nguyen said. "We share a commitment to building a stronger future for our communities and fighting for the issues that matter most to working families."
Nguyen said the campaign has centered on "bringing people together around a vision for progress, opportunity and meaningful change," and welcomed voters who want "a new type of leader in Congress — someone who will stand up, speak out and deliver results."
She also praised Lancaster's work on the trail.
"Mariah has been a strong, energetic campaigner and I've seen first-hand how dedicated they are to this district and our shared progressive values," Nguyen said. "They have a bright future in our Party and in our state."
Lancaster's withdrawal caps a run of endorsements that has reshaped the race in its final two weeks. Pressley and Trahan backed Nguyen on Aug. 24, the first members of the state's congressional delegation to take sides in the only open U.S. House primary in Massachusetts this year. The Boston Globe's editorial board endorsed her the next day, and Campbell has also backed her. The Marblehead Independent endorsed Nguyen on Aug. 27. She has been endorsed by House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Speaker Pro Tempore Kate Hogan, by more than 50 of her State House colleagues, and by groups including Progressive Mass, an SEIU council and New Politics, which backed her in July. The support crosses the ideological lines that have otherwise blurred in this primary, drawing in both progressive organizations and Beacon Hill's leadership.
The seat is open because U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton is running for the Senate against Sen. Edward Markey. In a district the Cook Political Report rates 11 points more Democratic than the national average, Tuesday's primary will almost certainly decide who goes to Congress. The winner faces Republican Micah Jones on Nov. 3.
Lancaster, who worked at the State Department and on Capitol Hill, entered the race as an economic populist, posting the field's first candidate video in January with a message about billionaire oligarchs. Federal Election Commission filings through June showed about $207,000 raised, roughly a third of it from inside Massachusetts — among the least locally funded campaigns in the race.
Money was a theme Lancaster raised repeatedly. At a forum at Salem State University in June, they told the audience that some campaigns might not last until the primary.
"A lot of us on this stage are very scared that our campaigns may not survive," Lancaster said then, "to actually be able to cast the vote for ourselves or one another."
Lancaster is the second Democrat to leave the race. Rick Jakious, a former Moulton aide, withdrew earlier this year.
Nguyen is the best-funded of the campaigns that have not relied on personal loans, raising about $711,000 with no candidate money and reporting roughly $330,000 on hand in her last full filing before the primary. Koh has raised more than $4.5 million; Beccia has loaned his campaign about $2 million.
Nguyen, 40, came to the United States as a refugee at age 5 after her family fled Vietnam with $100 and a few suitcases. Her father spent eight years as a political prisoner, and the family lived in public housing. She graduated from Tufts University and Northeastern University School of Law, the first in her family to finish college, and worked as an attorney with Greater Boston Legal Services, representing survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, veterans, immigrants, low-wage workers and people with disabilities. She is a member of UAW Local 2320.
In 2018, Nguyen unseated four-term Republican state Rep. Jim Lyons by nearly 10 points, becoming the first Vietnamese American woman elected to public office in Massachusetts. She chairs the House Committee on Climate Action and Sustainability, the first Asian American woman to chair a committee in the Massachusetts House.
