Democratic candidates seeking to succeed Seth Moulton in Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District discussed a wide range of issues at a tri-town forum in Swampscott on Thursday evening, sponsored by the Marblehead, Swampscott and Nahant Democratic committees.
The six Democratic candidates are software engineer Beth Andres-Black of Middleton, business owner John Beccia of Lynnfield, former White House aide Dan Koh of Andover, Salem veterinarian Dr. Mariah Lancaster, state Rep. Tram Nguyen of Andover and former state Rep. Jamie Zahlaway Belsito of Topsfield.
The candidates voiced similar positions on Congress’ responsibility to check President Donald Trump, supporting local communities amid federal funding cuts and U.S. aid to Israel.
Candidates also repeatedly returned to themes of transparency, constituent services and restoring public trust in government.
Campaign finance
One of the first questions posed to the panel was whether candidates would refuse donations from special interest groups and whether they would release copies of their personal income tax returns.
The candidates agreed to share their tax returns, with several joking that the documents would not be impressive.
“I’ll show you my tax returns, and you’ll cry because I’m broke,” Belsito said. She went on to argue that “Congressional seats are for sale” and criticized the growing influence of “AI money, big tech money and Anthropic money” in campaigns. (Anthropic is an artificial intelligence company.)
She added: “I’m not taking PAC money. I’m not taking this outside influence, because this district is not going to be bought and paid for from outside influences.”
Nguyen said, “We need money out of politics if we really want to truly represent the people,” while noting that more than 83% of her donations had come from within Massachusetts and nearly 30% from within the district.
She called for overturning Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, banning members of Congress from profiting from office and increasing accountability.
Lancaster said every contribution to her campaign had come from individuals rather than PACs or corporations.
“There is no higher priority to restore our democracy than to have aggressive campaign finance reform,” she said.
Koh said he would reject corporate PAC money “in the primary, in the general, and if I am fortunate enough to be elected to Congress,” while also advocating for publicly financed elections, ranked-choice voting and a ban on congressional stock trading.
Federal funding cuts
The candidates were asked how they would advocate for the 6th District amid federal funding cuts to housing, health care, education and other programs.
They repeatedly warned that smaller communities are struggling to implement state and federal priorities because of staffing shortages, aging infrastructure and shrinking federal support.
Belsito, citing PFAS contamination in her town’s water supply, argued that communities are increasingly forced to rely on property taxes because federal investments have been reduced.
“We need to be putting money into our education system so that towns like Swampscott are not paying for these things on the property tax alone,” she said.
Lancaster, who described herself as “the only public health professional in this race,” said smaller communities are often burdened by unfunded federal mandates and emphasized coalition-building in Congress.
“Representatives need to start advocating for each other’s projects,” she said.
Nguyen said local governments are already feeling the effects of “harmful disinvestment from the federal government,” while Beccia described local budgeting as a “whack-a-mole” exercise as municipalities try to fill gaps left by federal cuts.
Experience and skills
The candidates each highlighted the personal and professional experiences they said make them best suited for Congress.
Beccia emphasized private-sector leadership and experience regulating cryptocurrency and financial services, arguing Congress needs members who understand artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
“We need people who are mature, who have that sense of understanding, who have done it before, and have worked with all different types of people from all different sides of the aisle to get things done,” he said.
Belsito — who runs a national nonprofit focused on maternal mental health — highlighted nearly three decades of policy and government work dating back to an internship in former Congressman Joe Moakley’s office.
“I’ve helped pass appropriated money for the past five congresses since 2015,” she said. “I know people down there, but here’s the best thing — they know me.”
Lancaster pointed to her experience as a congressional staffer and federal civil servant, saying her familiarity with the “big, complicated machine” of Congress would allow her to be effective immediately.
She also cited her work as a veterinarian, saying it helped her understand “the working realities of ordinary families.”
Koh said the political moment requires experienced leadership prepared to challenge Trump immediately.
“This is not a time to send someone to Congress to learn another job,” said Koh, who has been endorsed by his former boss President Joe Biden.
Nguyen pointed to her legislative record in Massachusetts, saying she had passed bipartisan legislation and helped constituents through unemployment, food insecurity and other crises.
“That’s the type of leadership that’s needed right now,” Nguyen said.
Congress’ role
Koh said Congress must reclaim its role as a “co-equal branch of government” and use oversight powers aggressively.
“We need to fight fire with fire with this president,” he said. “This is not the time to play patty-cake with MAGA.”
He called for investigations into administration officials and corporate allies of Trump while advocating for policies including Medicare for All and restoring cuts to housing and health programs.
Lancaster argued Republicans in Congress have “abdicated” their responsibilities.
“Congress has the power of the purse,” she said. “Every dollar administered by this administration is supposed to be authorized and given permission by Congress to be spent, and Congress is responsible for holding the executive to account, and they are not doing it.”
Several candidates called for structural reforms, including campaign finance reform, changes to the Supreme Court and stronger civil rights protections.
Andres-Black argued that “the Supreme Court just restored Jim Crow (by changing the Voting Rights Act), and Congress has done nothing,” while advocating expanding the court and limiting its jurisdiction.
Belsito said Democrats need an action plan.
“Stop patting each other on each other’s backs, stop raising the same money from the same bazillionaires and actually do something,” she said. “I want a three-to-five point plan that leadership is going to do, like we’re actually going to codify Roe.”
‘Illegal wars,’ foreign aid and Israel
Candidates also debated U.S. support for Israel and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and the war in Gaza.
Koh said Israel “certainly” has a right to defend itself but argued the conflict ultimately requires “a two-state solution” and renewed diplomacy.
Several others sharply criticized Netanyahu and questioned continued U.S. aid.
“There is no excuse for genocide,” Andres-Black said, adding that Americans need to realize that U.S. technology is “picking targets out of a hat” in these wars — and often missing the mark.
Lancaster, who previously worked at the State Department administering foreign aid programs, said existing U.S. law already requires human rights vetting for aid recipients.
“Now we are bankrolling a supposed ally in a completely unjustified genocide,” Lancaster said.
Koh, who described the issue as “very personal” as an Arab American and Lebanese American with family in the region, said “it will be a very happy day in the Middle East when Bibi Netanyahu is no longer in power.”
He called for humanitarian aid to Gaza while also warning that criticism of the Israeli government should not fuel antisemitism.
“We need to stand with our Jewish American neighbors. We need to stand with our Arab American neighbors,” Koh said.
Belsito, who said she still has family in Syria, criticized the scale of U.S. aid to Israel while Americans struggle with housing, health care and education costs.
Nguyen, who said she comes from “a war-torn country,” called the suffering in Gaza “morally unacceptable” and argued Netanyahu “should be tried as a war criminal.”
She also emphasized separating criticism of governments from prejudice against religious or ethnic groups, citing her work combating antisemitism and discrimination against Muslim communities.
The Democratic primary is Sept. 1.
There is also one Republican in the 6th District race: attorney Micah Jones.
