On Friday, Rep. Seth Moulton ended his long-shot Democratic presidential primary bid and confirmed that he’d seek a fourth term in Massachusetts’ reliably blue 6th Congressional District. Moulton may be in for a rough homecoming, though, since women's health advocate Jamie Zahlaway Belsito and Salem City Councillor Lisa Peterson both announced earlier this summer that they would challenge him in the September 2020 primary. A number of other Democrats have previously expressed interest in taking on Moulton, though a large field would likely help him by splitting the anti-incumbent vote.
Moulton angered progressives across the nation late last year when he led an unsuccessful campaign to keep Nancy Pelosi from returning to the speaker's chair, and both of his opponents are betting that his quixotic presidential campaign damaged him at home. Belsito and Peterson both launched their campaigns by taking the congressman to task for failing to make his constituents his top priority. Belsito also went after Moulton for criticizing Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who was one of his many White House rivals.
Moulton has more than a year to try and convince primary voters in this North Shore seat that he really is focused on them, but he still might not be done trying to earn himself a promotion. CNN writes that Moulton’s aides hope that he’ll be in line for a prominent job in the next Democratic administration such as secretary of veterans affairs or even secretary of defense or ambassador to the United Nations.
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