Dan Koh, a former aide in the Biden administration, has won the Democratic primary in Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District, positioning him for a general election contest in November. Koh's victory in the race to replace Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., was bolstered by endorsements from prominent national Democrats, including former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Moulton, who has represented the district since 2015, was running in a separate primary for a U.S. Senate seat against incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. Moulton's Senate bid concluded Tuesday with his loss to Markey. Koh, who previously served as chief of staff to former Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and as deputy assistant to the president, previously ran for Congress in 2018, narrowly losing the Democratic nomination in Massachusetts' 3rd Congressional District.
The 6th Congressional District is considered a safe seat for Democrats. Koh's campaign platform included progressive stances such as abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and advocating for universal healthcare. He will face Republican candidate Micah Jones in the general election. Jones is running unopposed in his party's primary. Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran, based his Senate campaign on a call for generational change, arguing that Markey, who has been in office since 2013, had missed opportunities to improve the lives of Massachusetts residents. Markey, however, secured his victory with support from progressive figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Moulton's loss in the Senate primary means his departure from the House of Representatives, creating the vacancy that Koh is now positioned to fill. Koh's father, Howard Koh, previously served as an assistant secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services under former President Barack Obama, and his uncle also held federal positions during the Obama and Clinton administrations.