A former aide to the Biden administration, Dan Koh, has emerged victorious in a competitive primary race in Massachusetts. This win sets the stage for his path to the House of Representatives in the upcoming November elections.
Koh secured the first position among six candidates vying to replace Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., who ended his House career following a failed Senate bid against incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. This bid concluded on Tuesday night.
Gaining support from notable figures like former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, Koh was unsurprisingly a favorite. He began his tenure in the administration as chief of staff to then-Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. He later advanced to deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
Participating in a debate for the Democratic nomination in Lowell, Mass., Koh is no stranger to campaigning. His previous run for Congress was in 2018, where he narrowly missed the Democratic nomination in Massachusetts’ 3rd Congressional District, losing to Rep. Lori Trahan.
This time around, Koh is advocating for progressive policies. These include abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and promoting universal healthcare.
Koh is now aligning to take over the 6th Congressional District, which covers the northeastern section of Massachusetts and is considered a safe Democratic seat.
Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran, has represented this district since 2015. His recent Senate campaign involved a challenging primary battle against Markey, who has been in office since 2013 and is known for his progressive stance. Moulton, aged 47, ran his campaign on the theme of generational change, arguing that Markey, now 80, had missed opportunities to effectively improve the lives of Massachusetts residents. However, this wasn’t sufficient to topple Markey’s campaign.
Markey enjoys backing from renowned far-left figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Conversely, Koh is perceived as a solid figure within the establishment left, backed by his family’s history of federal government service; his father, Howard Koh, served as an assistant secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services under President Obama. His uncle also served under both the Obama and Clinton administrations.
As he moves forward, Koh will face Republican military veteran Micah Jones, who is advancing unopposed in his primary.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, where she covers the House of Representatives. Follow her on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected].