Massachusetts veteran Democrat, Rep. Michael E. Capuano, was ousted in the state primary by Ayanna Pressley Tuesday, further signaling a changing of the guard.
Despite polls showing that she would lose by double digits, Pressley defeated the 10-term incumbent for the Democratic nomination in Massachusetts’s 7th congressional district. With no Republican challenger, Pressley will become the first Black woman to represent Massachusetts in Congress.
Pressley’s message throughout the campaign was that a young and majority-nonWhite district needed a fresh voice in Washington.
“You saw what I saw: That these times demanded more from our leaders and our party,” Pressley told cheering supporters in Boston. “It’s not just good enough to see the Democrats back in power. It matters who those Democrats are.”
“Clearly, the district wanted a lot of change,” Capuano said. “Ayanna Pressley is going to be a good congresswoman.”
The 7th District is known as a Democratic stronghold, with previous elected officials to hold the seat including Hillary Clinton, Tip O’Neill, and John F. Kennedy.
