Tierney Ad Goes After Moulton, Questions If He's a Republican

With less than a week to go before the hotly contested Democratic Party primary for the Sixth Congressional District seat, the incumbent has come out swinging.

U.S. Rep. John Tierney is now airing a biting ad that takes aim at his closest rival, Seth Moulton, accusing him of being aligned with Republicans who support the National Rifle Association, oppose abortion rights and want to “end the Medicare guarantee.” Tierney accused Moulton of taking money from a “special interest group that only takes money from Republicans” and questions whether Moulton is really a Republican.

Tierney, of Salem, is seeking his 10th term representing the district, which includes most of the North Shore and runs from Salisbury and Newburyport south to Lynn and Swampscott. From east to west, it stretches from Rockport to Bedford, including Beverly, Peabody and Salem.

In a Boston Globe article on Wednesday, reporter Joshua Miller called the ad “a sign of the congressman’s vulnerability.”

Moulton, who lives in Salem, is a Marblehead native.

Moulton himself has run an ad attacking Tierney, saying only one of Tierney’s bills has passed, he has missed more votes than most other members of Congress and he was fined for illegal campaign activities.

Tierney’s new ad, which began airing Tuesday, is the Congressman “striking back,” the Globe said.

Moulton planned a Wednesday press conference to refute the accusation Tierney made in the ad, the Globe reported.

On Tuesday night, Moulton spent two hours on air with Marisa Defranco of Middleton, a Democrat who is also seeking the seat, on the Nightside program on WBZ-AM radio. On Tuesday, she earned the endorsement of the Lowell Sun. Previously, both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald endorsed Moulton.

WBZ host Dan Rea said Tierney’s press secretary e-mailed his producer last weekend saying Tierney could not make the on-air debate because of a scheduling conflict. Rea said he chose not to invite two other Democrats on the ballot, John Devine of Woburn, and John Gutta of Groveland because he said they were minor candidates, also noting Devine lives outside the district.