Dan Koh, a former White House aide to Joe Biden, has won the Democratic primary for Massachusetts’s Sixth Congressional District, putting him in pole position to take a seat that has been left open by Seth Moulton’s bid for the US Senate.
The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday night after Mr Koh defeated Tram Nguyen, a progressive state representative, and John Beccia, a financial technology executive who largely funded his own campaign.
The North Shore district is strongly Democratic, making Mr Koh the clear favourite in November’s general election. He will face Republican Micah Jones, an Army veteran and lawyer who was unopposed in his party’s primary.
If elected, Mr Koh would become the first Asian American to represent Massachusetts in Congress. Ms Nguyen, who arrived in the United States as a child after her family fled Vietnam as political refugees, would also have made history had she won.
The primary was held after Mr Moulton, a moderate Democrat, chose not to seek re-election and instead challenged Senator Ed Markey. Mr Moulton lost that Senate primary on Tuesday night.
Mr Koh was the only Democratic congressional candidate this year to receive endorsements from both Mr Biden and former vice-president Kamala Harris. His supporters also included former Boston mayor and Biden labour secretary Marty Walsh, as well as former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Mr Buttigieg endorsed Mr Koh in February, describing him as a public servant focused on results rather than “sound bites” or online political battles.
Dan Koh’s White House connections
Mr Koh served as Mr Walsh’s chief of staff at the Department of Labor before joining the White House as deputy cabinet secretary. His rivals portrayed that experience as evidence that he was too closely tied to Washington’s Democratic establishment.
Mr Koh instead made his connections central to his campaign, arguing that his experience in government would help him confront the Trump administration and address the cost of living. In a campaign-released phone call in May, Mr Biden told him: “You will be one heck of a congressman.”
The contest was one of the most expensive House primaries in Massachusetts. Advertising data from AdImpact showed Mr Koh spent about $2.4 million on television, radio and digital advertising, compared with $158,000 for Ms Nguyen. Mr Beccia spent about $3.2 million.
Six Democrats appeared on the ballot, although Mariah Lancaster withdrew shortly before polling day and endorsed Ms Nguyen. Her name remained on the ballot because voting had already begun.
The Sixth District stretches across 39 cities and towns from the North Shore and Cape Ann towards the Merrimack Valley. The seat has not been filled in an election without an incumbent on the ballot since 1978.
