3 South Shore incumbents face challenges for seats in U.S. House of Representatives

This is the third of three stories highlighting the South Shore's open seats on this year's statewide election ballot. Click here for an article about state Senate candidates, and here for an article about state House of Representatives race. Early voting begins Saturday, Oct. 22. 

Fiscal responsibility, securing the border, abortion rights, coastal resiliency and other hot-button issues have been raised this election season by the six candidates vying for three seats in U.S. House of Representatives.

Incumbents William Keating (D-Bourne), Ayanna Pressley (D-Boston) and Stephen Lynch (D-Quincy) are all facing Republican challengers in next month's election.

Keating v. Brown

Keating has represented Massachusetts's 9th congressional district since 2013, and represented the 10th district from 2011 to 2013.  He sits on the Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees. Before being elected to Congress, he served in the state House of Representatives, state Senate and was the Norfolk County District Attorney.

His challenger, Jesse Brown, narrowly defeated his opponent Dan Sullivan in the Republican primary election to earn his spot on the ballot. Brown, 45, is a Marine veteran, small business owner and Plymouth resident.

"Keating has been in elected office for 45 years, and it's just time for change right now," he said. "We need more of a voice in Washington for the constituency. I feel like he no longer represents the people, he represents himself."

Keating said he has tackled a number of issues that directly impact voters in his district, including changing the federal flood insurance maps; fighting for money to pay for coastal resiliency efforts and dredging projects; and capping costs on Medicare prescription drug prices.

"Those are bread-and-butter issues that I have been involved in that really affect people's lives for the better," Keating said. "I have one of the greatest coastal districts in Congress, and, in many respects, we are the canary in the coalmine when it comes to environmental issues. We have to address that. It's so fragile."

Brown said he wants to focus on curbing spending at the federal level, securing the border, reducing inflation and supporting police officers.

On the campaign trail, he said he's heard from residents who are concerned about the costs of buying groceries and heating their homes. He said the district needs someone who will focus on cutting the federal budget.

"There is a lot of wasteful spending, unnecessary spending. ... With inflation so high, they're passing bills without knowing the full cost of things like student loan forgiveness," he said. "It seems reckless."

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Through his company Heidrea Communications, Brown also runs a nonprofit for veterans in need called Heidrea for Heroes. He said he is a strong supporter of law enforcement officials and would back public safety bills if elected.

"I am a strong, strong advocate for law enforcement and public safety all around, as well as veterans issues like homelessness, suicide rates and VA benefits," Brown said. "I have family that is law enforcement, I'm a strong advocate for securing our border, in particular with how it relates to the opioid issue... It's a domino effect."

Keating said he also supports law enforcement officers, including those who were killed in the attack on the United States Capitol last year.

"My opponent welcomes Donald Trump's endorsement. This is a person who said just that he would pardon the people who attacked the Capitol police officers, 100 people were injured and five were killed ... what does that say for his view on law enforcement?" Keating said. "How could someone say that? I think the differences between the two of us are stark."

When asked if he welcomed the endorsement of Trump, a spokesperson for the Brown campaign did not directly answer the questions and instead said in an email that Brown is "running against a career politician who is using a political playbook to the tee with his Washington counterparts like Nancy Pelosi, who he votes with 100% of the time."

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Keating said, if reelected, he would continue to fight for the "basic human rights" that have been challenged. He said he's "shocked" that we're in a place where Roe v. Wade has been overturned, Social Security is being threatened, and there was in insurrection at the capitol.

"The things we put into place this next term are going to be important to the whole country, not just the South Shore. We've already set the groundwork for managing the supply chain issues brought by COVID-19 by investing in manufacturing in this country... With energy costs, which are so important, I've worked to eliminate our dependence on offshore oil and to move forward. These are things that are in crisis in the present, and we need to do things to change the future. That's what I've been doing."

Massachusetts's 9th congressional includes all of Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket counties, as well as parts of Bristol and Plymouth counties, including Marshfield, Plymouth, Norwell, Rockland, Hanover, Hanson and Duxbury.

Burke v. Lynch

Robert Burke, who is running against longtime representative Stephen Lynch, did not agree to a phone interview with The Patriot Ledger. On his website, he said he is opposed to open borders and reckless spending, wants to tackle inflation and thinks vaccinations and mask wearing should not be mandatory.

Lynch has been in the House of Representatives since 2001. He sits on the Financial Services and Oversight and Government Reform Committees.

Lynch has long been heavily involved in foreign policy and veterans affairs and has made dozens of trips overseas in support of American intervention in the Middle East.

He has advocated for health care reform, but split with his party to vote against the Affordable Care Act. He voted in favor of the Women's Health Protection Act last year, meant to protect the right to access abortion care, and supports same-sex marriage.

Lynch's campaign did not return a request for comment by deadline for this article.

Massachusetts's 8th congressional district includes Quincy, Braintree, Weymouth, Canton, Cohasset, Scituate, Hingham, Hull and part of Milton.

Pressley v. Palmer

Neither Ayanna Pressley, who is challenged for her seat by Boston resident Donnie Palmer, returned a request for comment for this article.

Palmer's website advocates for less government oversight of small businesses and says he is "dedicated to serving the will of the people, not corporate liberal interests."

"I’m not a politician. I’m a veteran," his website reads. "And I’m sick of politicians listening to left-wing activist groups when they should be listening to the people."

Ayanna Pressley is running for her second term in the House of Representatives. She is the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts, and serves on the Oversight and Reform and Financial Services committees.

Pressley is an advocate of Medicare for all, has called for the defunding of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is a supporter of student loan debt forgiveness. She has proposed lowering the voting age from 18 years old to 16, supported U.S. national anthem protests and has introduced a resolution calling for an overhaul of the criminal justice system.

Massachusetts's 7th congressional district includes much of Boston, Somerville and Cambridge, as well as part of Milton and all of Randolph.

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Reach Mary Whitfill at mwhitfill@patriotledger.com. 

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: 3 South Shore incumbents challenged for seats in Congress