Boston
Ayanna Pressley told cheering supporters she’s thrilled and humbled by her victory over longtime U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, a fellow liberal Democrat. Pressley will run unopposed in November, giving her a virtual lock on the seat — the first in Congress that will be held by a black woman from Massachusetts.
After appearing at a Democratic unity event on Wednesday morning, Pressley’s campaign canceled her events for the rest of the day, saying she was suffering from dehydration and exhaustion. Pressley joked at the event that she was experiencing withdrawal after six months on the campaign trail “double-fisting Red Bull and cold brew.”
Pressley, 44, said her victory was “a surreal, full-circle moment.” She said she ran to represent those traditionally without a voice in politics who deserve to live in communities that are safe and have good schools.
“When I have said that the people closest to the pain should be closest to the power, driving and informing the policy-making, that was never about me, that was about the residents of the Massachusetts 7th Congressional district,” she said on Wednesday during the party unity event.
She also got in a dig at Trump, saying the only way to combat “the hate coming out of this White House” is with an inclusive movement.
“This is our opportunity to build it,” she said. “We are at a crossroads. This can be our darkest hour or it can be our finest. And I am betting on it being our finest.”
Pressley cruised to victory on Tuesday in a district once served by Tip O’Neill and John F. Kennedy. Minorities now constitute a majority of the district’s population.
Pressley’s defeat of a 10-term incumbent underscores the shift underway in a Democratic Party whose base is seeking younger, more diverse candidates who embrace liberal policies. Her victory comes just two months after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez similarly defeated a top House leader in a primary for a New York congressional seat.
Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday night tweeted a selfie of both women together and wrote, “In June, I won my primary. Tonight, she won hers. Here’s to November.” A Pressley campaign insider, meanwhile, posted a video showing the candidate the moment she learned she’d won.
“Change is coming, and the future belongs to all of us,” Pressley told wildly cheering supporters on Tuesday night.
A subdued Capuano told supporters he did everything he could to win re-election.
“Apparently the district just is very upset with lots of things that are going on. I don’t blame them. I’m just as upset as they are, but so be it. This is the way life goes,” he said.
The race between Capuano and Pressley was perhaps the most closely watched contest in Massachusetts, especially since Pressley drew comparisons to Ocasio-Cortez.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren sailed through her primary unopposed.
Warren will face Geoff Diehl, a state representative who served as co-chairman of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign in the state and defeated two other Republicans for his party’s nomination.