Pols’ past practices are ancient history
Newcomers unafraid of entrenched incumbents
It’s getting so even a well-entrenched incumbent can’t feel safe anymore.
Take U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, who’s been in office since 1999 and has never had to worry about holding onto his seat. He rarely even has an opponent. He’s never fallen below 80 percent in his re-election bids.
But reports that Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley is considering running against him show that the younger politicians aren’t playing by the old rules anymore.
The election of President Trump has turned everything topsy-turvy. First-time candidates with no political experience are jumping into races. Democrats are winning in Alabama.
And in Massachusetts, Capuano now has to worry about an upstart councilor challenging him in 2018.
Well, worry might be a little strong. Pressley has floated herself for higher office before but never actually takes the leap. She would face an extremely uphill battle taking on Capuano, who starts off with a $750,000 financial advantage.
The Somerville Democrat has powerful special-interest support lined up behind him, and it would be unlikely that any of his Democratic colleagues in Congress would endorse Pressley.
But the fact that Pressley would even throw her name into the mix against Capuano shows how things have changed. It used to be considered almost heresy to take on someone in your own party, unless the incumbent was extremely weak or maybe headed for jail.
But in Boston this year, we saw a city councilor take on the powerful incumbent mayor, Marty Walsh. It took a lot of guts for City Councilor Tito Jackson to challenge Walsh. He ended up getting destroyed at the polls, but the race showed that the younger generation of pols aren’t afraid to take on conventional wisdom.
Pressley’s election was historic — she’s the first woman of color to sit on the City Council. If she decided to take on Capuano, she’d also be vying to make history as the first black woman in the Massachusetts congressional delegation. That’s a powerful argument but it doesn’t always translate into votes. Jackson, who was trying to become the city’s first black mayor, found that out during his landslide loss to Walsh.
But it’s refreshing that Jackson tried, and it would also be a great story if Pressley ran for Congress.
And hey, Ed Markey, you may be next. The state’s junior U.S. senator has been in Congress for seemingly forever, but don’t be surprised if a Democrat like U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton takes a run at Markey. Moulton is very ambitious and is already being talked about as a presidential contender in 2020.
If those plans don’t work out, expect Moulton to look for another race, and Markey’s seat just might be the ticket.