For our profiles of the Massachusetts challengers seeking to unseat U.S. House Democrats this election cycle, we set aside a sidebar for why the incumbents say they should be returned to office.
We reached out to the incumbents and we told them we were writing about their challengers, asking for either a brief phone call or a statement on why they think voters should choose them over their opponents. Two incumbents — Rep. Bill Keating and Rep. Stephen Lynch — talked to us on the phone, while the rest provided statements. Highlights of the phone conversations with Keating and Lynch, and the full statements provided by their colleagues, follow.
Rep. Stephen Lynch
8th Congressional District
Challenged by Patrick Roath
Who’s your representative?
Use this federal lookup tool to check your district and see who represents you in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Lynch told GBH News by phone his team has been knocking on doors in high-voting areas. He’s making a couple specific arguments about why he should be elected to his 14th term in Congress. The first is that, for blue-collar voters anxious about the high cost of living, Lynch’s personal story resonates with their concerns in a way that Roath’s does not.
“I remind them — especially, you know, in the housing developments in Brockton and Quincy and South Boston — you know, I grew up in public housing,” Lynch said. “My family was poor, and having a roof over my head was not a given. We were in a tough situation, my five sisters, my mom and dad. If we didn’t have affordable housing, public housing, we would have been homeless. And so I know what that feels like when, you know, having a roof over your head is not secure.”
Lynch, who’s a former iron worker and union president, also stressed that he “strapped on a pair of work boots for 20 years.”
“As a person who did that, and who lived from paycheck to paycheck — a lot of [8th District voters] have the same experience,” Lynch said. “So I can bring that to Congress. My opponent cannot, quite frankly. He’s from New Canaan, Connectucut, you know, very affluent parents, went to all the best schools.”
Roath attended Tufts University and recieved a law degree from Columbia Law School.
”I went to public school,“ Lynch continued. ”I graduated from South Boston High School. I went to college nights and weekends, Wentworth Institute [of Technology]. And I struggled. I struggled to pay my student loans. Especially the younger people — you know, paying for a college education is quite real to them, and they understand that.
“What I try to convey is that, you know, I have not only their best interest at heart, but I’ve also lived their lives and their experiences,” he continued. “And that is rare in Congress! That is rare!”
Lynch also said he tells voters that, despite Republican majorities through much of his time in Congress, he’s been able to bring funding for valuable projects back to the 8th District, including revamping all three of Quincy’s MBTA stations, creating a new police, fire and public works facility in Brockton, and keeping community health centers open.
“Talk about the things that affect their daily lives,” Lynch said of his pitch to voters. “That’s the key, trying to be relevant in the daily lives of the people that you represent. And I think I’ve been successful at that. That’s the narrative of my campaign.”
Rep. Richard Neal
1st Congressional District
Challenged by Jeromie Whalen
“I’ve taken on Donald Trump and won, fought to lower costs and protect Social Security, and delivered more than $1.5 billion in federal funding for our communities.”
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark
5th Congressional District
Challenged by Jonathan Paz and Tarik Samman
”I have dedicated my life to progressive change that benefits the people, not the powerful. I’m proud to have delivered important wins — from passing laws protecting survivors of domestic violence to enacting the single largest childcare investment in American history.
“Voters in Massachusetts know that it’s not enough to simply hold the line against Republican extremism. Democrats have to be fearless in offering an alternative and fighting for an affordable America. That’s why I’m using my position to advance policies that will make life easier, fairer, and less expensive for working families: bringing down the cost of high-quality childcare to $15 a day, lowering insurance premiums, capping home energy costs, ending unfair rent hikes, building millions of affordable homes, and upholding women’s right to make their own healthcare decisions.”
Rep. Bill Keating
9th Congressional District
Challenged by Craig Swallow
Asked about why voters should support him over Craig Swallow, Keating began by offering a lengthy rundown of the affordability challenges currently facing the public — challenges that, he argues, have largely been created by the Trump administration. In a phone interview with GBH News, he cited (among other things) the president’s tariffs; increased costs for housing gas, and heating oil; the loss of Affordable Care Act tax subsidies; and cuts to SNAP benefits.
“I’m in a better position [to address these problems] because, number one, I’ve been fighting these battles,” Keating said. “And we have a real opportunity, I think, to get the majority back in the House.
“Clearly, people deserve better than what they’re getting, and I’m in a position to make things better,” he added. “Because I know how to work with appropriations, when we have this leverage, I’ll know how to get this legislation through and marbled into legislation that’s moving forward.”
Keating also touted his ability to deliver for his district, saying he played a key role in obtaining more than $2 billion in funding for the new Sagamore Bridge and in fending off tariffs that could have damaged Massachusetts’ cranberry industry thanks to his ability to work with the European Union. He also cited his dozen years as Norfolk district attorney, citing his experience defending the civil rights of both legal and undocumented immigrants.
“Just having the knowledge of … what we have to do to make things better, those are the things clearly that put me in a better position to deal with, I think, an unprecedented and illegal term of Donald Trump,” Keating said.
Rep. Jake Auchincloss
4th Congressional District
Challenged by Jason Poulos
“This moment calls for fighters and fixers. I’m doing both. I’m fighting ICE’s cruelty, RFK Jr.’s anti-vax agenda, and the president’s warmongering in the Middle East.
”Americans also need a reason to vote for Democrats again. I’m advancing bold ideas to fix the American dream, and give Americans a strong floor and no ceiling.“
