Meet the Candidates: Winners of the Congressionals Primaries in Massachusetts [1]
Submitted by Conor Kenny [2] on
For the full roster of candidates, see the Massachusetts state portal [3].
By Congresspedia assistant editor Avelino Maestas [4]
The incumbents in Massachusetts [3]’ contested primaries Tuesday were universally victorious, setting up November matchups that will likely keep members of the state’s congressional delegation in their jobs come January.
Sen. John Kerry [5] (D), facing his first primary opponent in 24 years, easily defeated challenger Ed O'Reilly [6] Tuesday. O’Reilly, an attorney who questioned Kerry’s commitment to liberal issues, took several precincts, but conceded defeat before ¾ of results were in. Kerry will go on to face Republican nominee Jeff Beatty [7], the founder of an anti-terrorism consulting firm.
In the state’s other contested primary, Rep. John Olver [8] defeated his Democratic opponent, Robert Feuer [9]. Olver will now shift focus to his general election challenger, Nathan Bech [10] (R). Bech is a veteran of the Iraq War who now runs his family’s property management business.
Only three other incumbents face challengers in November (see the unchallenged incumbents after the jump):
- Earl Sholley [11], a small business owner is running against Rep. Barney Frank [12] (D) in the 4th district.
- Richard A. Baker [13], a software engineer and intellectual property executive, is campaigning in the 6th district against incumbent Rep. John Tierney [14] (D).
- John Cunningham [15], the owner/manager of a web-based educational service, is challenging Rep. Ed Markey [16] (D) in the 7th district.
As part of Congresspedia's Wiki the Vote [17] project, citizen journalists from around the country (and even some candidates!) have been logging information about the candidates' positions, biographies and records. A full list of the candidates and their professions are below, but you can also find them at their respective state portals via the Wiki the Vote project homepage [17]. We need your help to find out more about these candidates, so if you know something about them please add it to their profile. (You can always contact [18] one of the staff editors for help.)
Here are the victors of Massachusetts [3]’ primaries:
- Sen. John Kerry [5] (D) is being challenged by Jeff Beatty [7], founder of anti-terrorism consulting firm Total Security.
- In the 1st district, incumbent Rep. John Olver [8] (D) is being challenged by Nathan Bech [10], a Republican, an Iraq War veteran and businessman .
- In the 2nd district, incumbent Rep. Richard Neal [19] (D) is unopposed.
- In the 3rd district, incumbent Rep. Jim McGovern [20] (D) is unopposed.
- In the 4th district, incumbent Rep. Barney Frank [12] (D) is running against Republican nominee Earl Sholley [11], a small business owner.
- In the 5th district, Democratic incumbent Rep. Niki Tsongas [21] faces no major-party opposition.
- In the 6th district, incumbent Rep. John Tierney [14] is running against Richard A. Baker [13], a Republican, who is a software engineer.
- In the 7th district, incumbent Rep. Ed Markey [16] (D) will face John Cunningham [15] (R) the owner/manager of a web-based educational service.
- In the 8th district, incumbent Rep. Mike Capuano [22] (D) is unopposed.
- In the 9th district, incumbent Rep. Stephen Lynch [23] (D) is unopposed.
- In the 10th district, incumbent Rep. Bill Delahunt [24] (D) is unopposed.