Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse says he is running for Congress in Massachusetts’ first district, setting up a possible Democratic primary challenge against 30-year incumbent Richard Neal. Morse became Holyoke’s youngest and first openly gay mayor in 2011 at the age of 22. In a video announcing his campaign, Morse accused Neal of complacency.
Neal's campaign responded in a statement: "We are fortunate to live in a country where everyone can have his or her voice heard by running for office, and that’s why Congressman Neal will welcome anyone into this race. Richie has been a champion for working families in Western Massachusetts and has fought tirelessly to ensure that the people of our region are not forgotten and receive our fair share."
Democratic State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier of the 3rd Berkshire District tells WAMC she got a courtesy call from Morse before he announced his campaign, but told him she supports Neal for reelection.
"I told him quite clearly I’m squarely with the Congressman. Congressman Neal has been great to the 1st Massaschussets Congressional district, he’s chair of Ways & Means, and that’s a really big deal, and I think that the mayor of Holyoke should be working on making sure Holyoke gets what it needs right now," she said.
State Rep. Paul Mark of the 2nd Berkshire District, also a Democrat, was cautious in his comments on the potential primary.
"It’s so brand new. He only announced today. I know he’s put out a call and I look forward to hearing what he has to say," Mark tells WAMC. "Obviously I would extend anybody that level of courtesy, especially somebody that’s been in office and who I don’t know well, but I’ve met a couple of times. But I also know that Congressman Neal is the chair of Ways & Means. I mean, that’s a very important position, and it’s a position in the House leadership and it takes a very long time to get there. If we end up doing an infrastructure bill nationally, something like that, there’s opportunities, hopefully, for funding that I don’t think we would be able to expect, maybe, in the past. It’ll probably be an interesting race and it’ll be an interesting race to watch, especially as chair of redistricting, where I have to kind of maintain a level of professionalism, and we’ll see what happens."
Democratic State Senator Adam Hinds of the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden district says he thinks "we're doing well" with Rep. Neal.
"You know, I’m just learning about this myself and so I think we’re doing well," Hinds said. "Congressman Neal, it’s very rare to have someone in his position from your own congressional district and it’s been a pleasure working with him so we look forward to continuing that."
