MA-04: With 146,000 ballots counted in the Democratic primary, Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss leads former Alliance for Business Leadership Jesse Mermell 22.3-21.5, with fellow Newton City Councilor Becky Walker Grossman at 18%. The Associated Press has not called the race to succeed Rep. Joe Kennedy in this safely blue seat.
All the candidates in this crowded field ran against the Trump administration, but Auchincloss, who is a former registered Republican, attracted plenty of scrutiny over his loyalties and past statements. Among other things, Auchincloss worked for Republican Charlie Baker's successful 2014 campaign for governor, and he campaigned as an “Obama-Baker” voter. In 2016, Auchincloss also urged a local superintendent not to punish Newton students who had flown a Confederate flag outside their high school.
Auchincloss wrote back then that, while the community was right to "denounce this act of bigotry," the school district would be violating the free speech protections for students laid out by the U.S. Supreme Court decades ago by disciplining them. He added, “I doubt you would ban a Black Lives Matter banner, for example, and I know you would not ban an LGBT flag, though these might sincerely upset some students." During his campaign, Auchincloss acknowledged he “should have been a better ally" back then” and was wrong to view the incident as a free speech issue.
Auchincloss, though, raised plenty of money and benefited from heavy spending from a super PAC funded in part by his parents. Some progressives called for other candidates to drop out in order to stop Auchincloss, but only two contenders, Dave Cavell and Chris Zannetos, ended up exiting the contest before Election Day. EMILY’s List, which didn’t endorse anyone, did go after Auchincloss in its advertising, though it also targeted City Year co-founder Alan Khazei.
Mermell, who earned endorsements from Cavell and Zannetos as well as state Attorney General Maura Healey, seemed to have the most momentum heading into the primary, but she didn’t have Auchincloss’ resources. Mermell ended up performing well in Brookline and Newton in the Boston suburbs, which were also home to all seven of the candidates who were still in the running on Tuesday. Mermell struggled, though, in the southern part of the seat near Rhode Island where none of the contenders had a geographic base of support.
Auchincloss, by contrast, managed to take first or second place in towns in this area, which may have been due in large part to his heavy spending. That showing might have made all the difference in this very crowded contest.
