Massachusetts Republicans will pick their nominee to challenge Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday, but only two of the blue state’s nine House incumbents will face challengers in November.
In addition to picking a Senate nominee, Republican voters in the 8th District will choose between three candidates to take on Rep. Stephen F. Lynch on Sept. 3.
In the 9th District, Republican Dan Sullivan, a registered nurse, is unopposed in his primary to challenge Rep. William Keating.
Tuesday marks the second-to-last day of congressional primaries for the year, before nearby New Hampshire and Rhode Island, along with Delaware, hold their primaries on Sept. 10.
Warren, seeking a third term in the Senate, has never faced a Democratic challenger in a primary since her first run in 2012. She’s expected to easily win reelection in a race that Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales rates as Solid Democratic.
Even so, three Republicans are seeking to run against her: John Deaton, an attorney and Marine Corps veteran; Quincy City Council President Ian Cain; and Robert Antonellis, an engineer.
Deaton has told his personal story of being born into poverty outside of Detroit and becoming the first member of his family to graduate high school, while Cain says on his campaign website that he’ll be an “independent, fresh voice.” Antonellis, however, is far more conservative and says his message for Warren and other politicians is to “Stop stealing the U.S.A.”
Deaton has the most money of the Republicans. He raised $1.8 million, including a $1 million personal loan, and had $828,000 on hand as of Aug. 14. Cain had $22,000 on hand and Antonellis had $11,000 and loaned his campaign $25,000.
But Warren, in her first campaign since running for president in 2020, had outraised them all. She had $5.3 million on hand. She won her last election in 2018 by 24 percentage points.
In the 8th District Republican primary, Robert Burke, who lost the 2022 race, James Govatsos and Daniel Kelly are all running to challenge Lynch, who is running for a 12th full term.
Govatsos had $1,800 on hand as of Aug. 14, while Burke and Kelly didn’t report raising any money. Lynch had $1.1 million on hand.
The 8th District is rated Solid Democratic. Lynch won reelection in 2022 by 40 percentage points.
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