Moulton Tells Supporters 6th District Can 'Stay Blue' After Win Over Tierney

Democrat Seth Moulton drew on his relative youth and status as a first-time candidate in addressing supporters Tuesday night following his primary election win.

Moulton spoke about an hour after U.S. Rep. John Tierney conceded in front of his supporters at an election night party at the Hawthorne Hotel. Moulton took the podium at the Salem VFW and said that “very few people outside this room thought we could win.”

“This is an amazing victory and I am so grateful to you and the voters of the 6th District,” he said, later adding: “Today the voters - you - have spoken loud and clear.”

His speech was met with cheers from the crowd of “We believe” and “Hoorah” - a chant with deep roots in the U.S. Marines.

Moulton is a Marine who served four tours in Iraq.

Moulton got 49 percent of the votes in the Democratic primary across the district, to Tierney’s 41 percent - about a 5,500 vote margin. Marisa DeFranco of Middleton received 6 percent of the vote, John Devive had 2 percent and John Gutta 1 percent.

Moulton is a Marblehead native who now lives in Salem. Tierney also lives in Salem.

Moulton did thank Tierney, a nine-term incumbent, for being a “true advocate for progressive values and civil rights in Washington.”

The district includes 39 cities and towns on the North Shore and north of Boston, stretching from Salisbury and Newburyport in the north to Lynn and Swampscott in the south. From east to west, it stretches from Rockport to Bedford, and includes Beverly, Danvers, Gloucester, Peabody and Salem.

Moulton will go on to meet Richard Tisei, a Republican from Wakefield, in the Nov. 4 general election. On Wednesday, independent Chris Stockwell was also expected to officially announce his campaign for the 6th district seat at an event in Lynn.

Moulton said if elected, and the government is shut down, he will not accept pay. If Congress has not passed a jobs bill, he will not accept a pay increase.

He also made comparisons to the late Paul Tsongas, the former 5th District Congressman and U.S. Senator who “remade Lowell.”

“I want to see a renaissance in Lynn,” Moulton said, referring to the district’s largest city.

Moulton, 35, also started to draw contrasts with Tisei, saying that the former state Senator will not bring fresh leadership to Washington, noting Tisei was first elected to public office when Moulton was 6-years-old.

“I look forward to contrasting our vision with that of Richard Tisei’s,” he said.

He also said that by defeating Tierney, “this seat in the 6th district will stay blue,” a reference to polls that Moulton matches up better than Tierney in head-to-head polling versus Tisei.