Incumbent Stephen Lynch defeats progressive challenger Patrick Roath in Massachusetts primary

In the Democratic primary for Massachusetts’s 8th Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Stephen Lynch retained his seat, defeating progressive attorney Patrick Roath. Lynch, who has a reputation for being more conservative than most Massachusetts Democrats, faced a challenger who raised roughly $300,000 more and campaigned on issues like dismantling ICE, Medicare for All and opposition to the Laken Riley Act, a bill Lynch voted for.

Their debate centered on immigration policy, health-care reform and campaign-finance reform, with Lynch defending his vote on the Laken Riley Act as a response to a broken immigration system. Roath secured endorsements from one outlet, the Boston Teachers Union, the Massachusetts Teachers Association and David Hogg’s Leaders We Deserve, while Lynch was backed by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Iron Workers Local 7, Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts and the American Federation of Government Employees. The primary also underscored a generational divide—Lynch is 71, Roath 39—in a district that heavily favors Democrats, where the GOP fielded retired worker Robert Burke.