Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District — a predominantly Democratic seat covering much of the North Shore, including Salem, Gloucester, Beverly, Peabody, Danvers and surrounding communities — is swarming with wannabe somebodies after Congressman Seth Moulton, who has represented the district since 2015, announced that he is not seeking re-election in a high-stakes bid to unseat U.S. Senator Ed Markey.
Moulton, a former Marine and obvious misanthrope, is running on the platform that Democrats have no platform and need to do more than just lambaste Trump and ride high on the laurels of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and later, abortion, as if it’s still the keystone of the women’s rights movement. Even though Moulton gives off a sad vibe that almost makes you sympathize with him, he is such an obvious nitwit that, even when he says what most reasonable Democrats want to hear, he still is not likely to win too many people over. This is most especially true because he is running against Markey, who beat Joe Kennedy III in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat in 2020. Markey, 79, a Malden native and the son of a milkman, has somehow morphed from one of the youngest elected officials in Massachusetts history into one of the oldest; he is politically savvy, very charming in person, and really knows how to tow the party line without any hesitation or deviation.
Moreover, Markey will go anywhere in the state and charm every jerk in the room with the vigor of a delusionally ambitious 25-year-old man — even places like Worcester, where Till Lindemann, the lead singer of Rammstein, dropped his pants during a performance at the Palladium in 1999 and got himself arrested, most likely because he didn’t want to perform there again. I’m sure when it’s his time to die, Markey will just hop into his coffin with a big old smile on his face and die on cue; absolute perfection!
How Moulton is doing against Markey
At the moment, Moulton appears to be the underdog against Markey.
Recent polling has shown:
- Suffolk University (April 2026): Markey 47%, Moulton 30%
- UNH (Feb. 2026): Markey 35%, Moulton 23%
Unless Moulton scrambles back to his foxhole, I mean, Congressional seat, it looks like the race in the 6th Congressional District could become an open-seat contest with a lot of contenders where it wouldn’t take a high percentage of the vote for any one of them to win.
Ranking the candidates to replace Moulton
1. Dan Koh — A Rising Semi-Nobody
Dan Koh, who lost to Lori Trahan by just 145 votes in the 2018 Democratic primary for Massachusetts’ 3rd Congressional District, is back for another run at Congress — because apparently almost winning once was enough to make him think the sequel might work out better. After that loss, the Andover native served on the Andover Select Board and later went to Washington, where he worked for Marty Walsh when Walsh was U.S. labor secretary. Koh has since become a darling of the Democratic Party, and his current campaign has raised more than $3.5 million.
2. John Beccia — A Nobody Who Says He Has Some Money
John Beccia, an adjunct professor of law at Boston University, is not a crypto bro, but a middle-aged crypto dad from Lynnfield, who once served as the general counsel and chief compliance officer of Circle Internet Financial Inc., a global cryptocurrency company. He’s sent out at least two press releases just to tell people how much money he has on hand — first $1 million, then $2 million for his campaign for Seth Moulton’s seat — which is one way to campaign when nobody knows who you are. With a tiny social media following and little name recognition, it seems Beccia has concluded that money’s not enough, now he wants fame too.
3. Tram Nguyen — A Nobody with a Story
Tram Nguyen is a state representative from Andover who currently represents the 18th Essex District, covering Andover, Boxford, North Andover, and Tewksbury. Her campaign page frames her as a refugee-turned-advocate, using the line that at age 5 her family escaped Communism and came to the U.S. with “only $100 and a dream,” followed by a pitch that she has spent her life fighting for overlooked people and now wants to do that in Congress.
4. Jamie Belsito — A Nobody with Experience as a Nobody
Jamie Belsito is a former one-term state representative from Topsfield who represented the 4th Essex District and is now trying to turn a brief stint in office and plenty of activist-style energy into a serious campaign for Congress.
5. Beth Andres-Beck — A Long-Shot Nobody
Beth Andres-Beck is a software engineer from Middleton and first-time congressional candidate trying to turn a tech-policy résumé and outsider message into a credible campaign for Congress.
Republican field
Republicans currently have two candidates in the race, John Field and Micah Jones, but given the district’s voting history, the more consequential contest is likely to be the Democratic primary. In recent federal elections, the 6th Congressional District has consistently favored Democratic candidates.