Pressley secures Democratic nomination in Massachusetts without primary or general election challengers
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., is officially the Democratic nominee for Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District after facing no challengers in Tuesday's primary. She will also face no Republican opponent in November, despite controversies involving her personal finances, her husband's business dealings, and racially charged remarks.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., has officially secured the Democratic nomination for Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District after facing no challengers in Tuesday's primary. The incumbent will also face no Republican candidate in the November general election, effectively guaranteeing her return to Congress for another term.
Pressley's district encompasses roughly three-quarters of Boston, and the Cook Political Report ranks it as Solid Democrat. She was first elected to office in 2018, alongside fellow Squad members Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. Despite facing no competition in either the primary or general election, Pressley joined other Democratic candidates on the campaign trail, including state Rep. Tram Nguyen, a Democratic candidate for District 6. Like Pressley, Nguyen is calling to abolish ICE, implement Medicare for all, and end all military aid to Israel.
Pressley also joined Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., on the campaign trail. With no challengers from either political party, Pressley continued criticizing President Donald Trump and the conservative-majority Supreme Court this election cycle. Following the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which held that creating a second majority-Black district constituted unconstitutional racial gerrymandering, Pressley accused the Trump administration of being "anti-Black" and "that would rather Black Americans pick cotton than pick the president, than pick their congressperson, than pick a senator."
A week before the primary, Pressley spoke at a campaign rally for Markey in which she said White supremacy is thriving under Trump's presidency. "It is bigger than Trump," Pressley said. "Because whenever we do the work of ousting the occupant of the Oval Office, the Confederacy is still alive and well," Pressley said. "That's all MAGA is. White supremacy is still alive and well. Anti-Blackness will still be alive and well."
When introducing a bill in April aimed at providing relief to people facing eviction, Pressley called evictions "an act of violence." However, critics pointed to Pressley's 2024 financial disclosure, which showed that she and her husband reported $8 million in assets from four Massachusetts rental properties. In July, Pressley's husband, Conan Harris, also faced scrutiny after a company he partners with secured a $2 billion contract from the state to build a new courthouse in Massachusetts. John Barros, a key partner in CoJo Real Estate, divested from the company because of ethics concerns over how the contract was awarded. Losing bidders for the project are now suing and pointing to Barros' departure from the company as evidence of wrongdoing. However, Pressley is not accused of wrongdoing in the suit.
Pressley's uncontested path to reelection stands in contrast to other races in Massachusetts this cycle. Markey, 80, defeated Rep. Seth Moulton, 47, in the Democratic Senate primary, with the race centering on whether Markey was too old to serve a third term in the Senate. The longtime liberal stalwart will be 86 by the end of his next term.
