Ayanna Presley made history Tuesday night when she
defeated ten-term incumbent Michael Capuano in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts’ 7
th district. In the last poll before the election, Pressley was trailing Capuano by
thirteen points, but ended up winning the race by a margin of eighteen points. Pressley, who is running unopposed in the general election, is poised to become the first woman of color in the state to serve in the House of Representatives. Pressley, whose platform included Medicare-for-all, abolishing ICE, and abortion rights, is widely seen as a yet another symbol of mounting challenges coming from the party’s left this election season. Mary MacDonald, a biotech researcher in Cambridge and Pressley voter, told
The New York Times that Pressley “represents a perspective that Congress is lacking and that resonates with me. As a woman of color, she understands my concerns, as a lesbian. Capuano has done a great job for the district, but he doesn’t get it.” According to a 2016
PRRI survey, 58 percent of Americans believe the country would be better off if there were more women serving in public office. However, more than three-quarters (77 percent) of Democrats say the U.S. would benefit from more women serving in political leadership roles.