Former Biden White House aide Dan Koh won the crowded primary to succeed Rep. Seth Moulton in Massachusetts on Tuesday — by being one of the few Democrats on the campaign trail this cycle who explicitly embraced the former president.
Koh ran hard on endorsements from both former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, featuring the pair in a campaign ad at a time when most Democratic candidates are keeping their distance from the last administration — even in safe blue seats. He also touted support from other Biden administration officials, including former Labor Secretary and past Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, his longtime boss.
Koh emerged as a front-runner by vastly out-raising his opponents in the five-way primary for the 6th District seat Moulton vacated to run for Senate. Koh also benefited from just over $700,000 in spending on his behalf from Think Big, a super PAC affiliated with the pro-AI Leading the Future network. He will be the heavy favorite in November in the deep-blue district.
It's Koh's second run for Congress; he lost an open-seat House primary to Democratic Rep. Lori Trahan in 2018 in Massachusetts' 3rd District. His home was later drawn into Moulton's seat through the 2020 redistricting process.
Trahan and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) had endorsed one of his rivals, state Rep. Tram Nguyen, as did The Boston Globe, the state's largest newspaper.