Game Developer, Gamergate Target Will Run to Unseat Stephen Lynch

BOSTON, MA — Re-elected only months earlier, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch already faces a challenge on the left from Brianna Wu, a game developer who made headlines in 2014 after she became a target in the "GamerGate" online firestorm.

Wu's campaign officially announces Friday, she told The Boston Globe, but it already has a robust online presence, including a Brianna Wu 2018 website, registration with the Federal Election Commission, online fundraising, a campaign video (below) and online mailing list.

Wu is mounting an aggressive fight from the left against Lynch.

The co-founder of Boston's Giant Spacekat video game development group became a central figure in the vitriol of 2014's Gamergate movement. She received threats of death after offering comments on sexism and violence directed against women in the gaming industry.

Those threats spurred Wu to flee her Arlington home in 2015. Her campaign filing documents are based out of Walpole. In an emailed response to Patch, Wu said said she is not telling people where she currently lives.

"It's exhausting to fear for your life every time there's a knock on the door," she said. "But, it is in greater Boston. We're currently looking into secure places to live in district 8. We plan to move back there in July."

Wu has told The Boston Globe that threats and online harassment have resumed since she announced plans to mount a campaign in December.

Read: Arlington GamerGate Target Tells Her Story

In a statement to The Boston Globe, Lynch defended his record.

“I have taken heat for some of my positions, but I have never been silent and do not plan to be while the House, Senate, and executive branch are in Republican control,” he said.

Lynch's 15 years in office will go up against a nonexistent political track record from Wu, who casts herself as a fighter who can "take on the alt-right" and combat the policies from President Trump and his administration. Ironically, Wu's lack of experience and the combative tone of her campaign have engendered comparisons to Trump from some critics.

The Eighth Congressional District includes the Cities of Boston, Brockton and Quincy and, as well as 21 towns in Southeastern Massachusetts. Lynch is a resident of South Boston.