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Polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday across the 39 cities and towns of Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District, ending a Democratic primary that will decide who succeeds U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton in a seat voters have not filled without an incumbent on the ballot since 1978.
Six Democrats appeared on the ballot: state Rep. Tram Nguyen of Andover; Dan Koh, also of Andover; John Beccia of Lynnfield; Jamie Belsito of Topsfield; Beth Andres-Beck of Middleton; and Mariah Lancaster of Salem, who ended their campaign three days before the primary and endorsed Nguyen but remained on the ballot. The winner advances to face Republican Micah Jones of Essex on Nov. 3 in a district the Cook Political Report rates 11 points more Democratic than the nation.
Why the seat is open
The seat opened when Moulton, a Salem Democrat who has held it since January 2015, decided not to seek reelection and instead ran in Tuesday's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, challenging 80-year-old Sen. Edward Markey on a message of generational change. Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran who served four tours in Iraq, won the 6th District seat in 2014 by defeating nine-term incumbent U.S. Rep. John Tierney in the primary — the first sitting Massachusetts congressman to lose a primary since 1992 — then beat Republican Richard Tisei that November.=
Nguyen, an Andover state representative and former Greater Boston Legal Services attorney, came to the United States from Vietnam as a 5-year-old refugee and campaigned on a legislative record that includes a coercive-control law she co-wrote with state Rep. Natalie Higgins, signed by Gov. Maura Healey in 2024. Koh, also of Andover, is a former chief of staff to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and a Biden White House aide who lost a 2018 congressional primary to now-U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan by 145 votes. Beccia, of Lynnfield, is a financial-technology executive who loaned his own campaign roughly $3 million. Belsito, of Topsfield, is a former state representative who ran on a "People's Pledge" rejecting corporate PAC, super PAC and AIPAC money. Andres-Beck, of Middleton, is a software engineer running as a Democratic Socialist.
A victory by Nguyen or Koh would make history either way: both would be the first Asian American elected to Congress from Massachusetts. Nguyen would also be the first woman and the first Vietnamese American to represent the 6th District. Belsito, if she wins, would be the first woman to hold the seat and, pending confirmation against U.S. House historical records, potentially the first Arab American to represent it in Congress. Andres-Beck, who is agender and trans, would be the first openly LGBTQ person to represent the district, though not the first openly transgender member of Congress — a distinction that belongs to U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, elected in 2024.
The money behind the six Democrats was never close to even. Koh raised about $4.5 million, the most in the field, much of it in large checks from Boston and New York donors; about $271,000, or 6.5%, came from inside the district, according to the Marblehead Independent's review of Federal Election Commission filings. Beccia loaned his campaign roughly $3 million of his own money, with an estimated $7,300 — under 2% — from district donors. Nguyen raised about $711,000 with no candidate loans, roughly 85% of it — about $604,000 — from within Massachusetts. Belsito raised about $253,000 but drew the highest in-district donor share in the field, about 38%, or roughly $96,000. Andres-Beck raised about $322,000, mostly in small checks.
Outside groups added another layer in the race's final days. A pro-Nguyen super PAC, Pro-Choice Majority Action, reported spending about $500,000 on advertising in the campaign's last week; the outlet Sludge reported that part of the group's funding traces to a committee whose largest donor is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's United Democracy Project, a detail in tension with Nguyen's own criticism of Israel's war in Gaza. A pro-Koh group, New Leadership PAC, reported spending more than $870,000 on Koh's behalf, including a $250,000 check from the sports-betting company DraftKings. Neither campaign controls its outside spending, which by law must be raised and spent independently of the candidates.
The endorsement scramble
The race's final two weeks brought a wave of endorsements toward Nguyen: U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Lori Trahan on Aug. 24; the Boston Globe's editorial board on Aug. 25; the Marblehead Independent's editorial board on Aug. 27; Attorney General Andrea Campbell; and Lancaster's withdrawal and endorsement on Aug. 29. Koh built a different coalition earlier in the year, drawing endorsements from former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Walsh, Tierney and unions including the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and Teamsters Locals 25 and 3.
Two Democrats left the race before voting began. Rick Jakious, Moulton's former chief of staff, withdrew April 15, saying, "Running for Congress requires access to significant wealth," and endorsed no one. Lancaster, a Salem veterinarian, withdrew Aug. 29 — three days before the primary and after early and mail voting were already underway. "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. Nguyen thanked her former rival. "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." Because Lancaster quit after voting had begun, their name remained on Tuesday's ballot and their votes were counted.
Whoever wins is stepping into a seat Massachusetts voters have not filled without an incumbent on the ballot since Michael Harrington retired in 1978. Every race since — including Nicholas Mavroules' 1992 loss after an indictment, Peter Torkildsen's defeat by Tierney in 1996 and Tierney's own 2014 primary loss to Moulton — featured a sitting officeholder. The 6th District runs across 39 cities and towns from the North Shore and Cape Ann through the Merrimack Valley, and Jones, an Army veteran and securities attorney, is unopposed in the Republican primary.
Turnout was already running ahead of the state's pace before polls opened Tuesday morning. As of 7 a.m., 555,525 of the state's 5,184,354 registered voters — about 10.7% — had cast a ballot through early and mail voting, according to state ballot statistics; 464,616 of those were Democratic ballots and 90,909 were Republican. Marblehead had cast 2,521 ballots, or about 14.8% of its 17,057 registered voters. In Andover, home to both Nguyen and Koh, 4,066 of 26,920 registered voters — about 15.1% — had voted; in Salem, 3,647 of 36,830, about 9.9%; in Swampscott, 1,820 of 12,782, about 14.2%; in Lynn, the district's largest city, 3,843 of 64,418, about 6%. Tuesday's in-person turnout was still being tallied as polls closed.
The Democratic nominee advances to face Jones in the Nov. 3 general election and, in a district this Democratic, is heavily favored to win — potentially for a long tenure, given that Tierney and Moulton together held the seat for more than 30 years. Results were expected to be reported through the night by city and town clerks and the secretary of the commonwealth's office.
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