Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., secured the Democratic nomination for Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District after facing no challengers in Tuesday’s primary. She will also face no Republican opponent in the November general election.
Pressley’s district covers roughly three-quarters of Boston and is rated Solid Democrat by the Cook Political Report. She was first elected in 2018 alongside fellow “Squad” members Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.
Despite lacking any primary or general election competition, Pressley campaigned for other Democrats this cycle, including state Rep. Tram Nguyen, who is running for Massachusetts’ District 6 and has called for abolishing ICE, implementing Medicare for All and ending U.S. military aid to Israel. Pressley also appeared alongside Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., on the campaign trail.
Sharp Rhetoric on Trump and the Supreme Court
With no electoral challenge to answer to, Pressley used the campaign season to sharpen her criticism of President Donald Trump and the Supreme Court’s conservative majority.
After the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which found that creating a second majority-Black congressional district amounted to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering, Pressley accused the Trump administration of being “anti-Black,” saying it “would rather Black Americans pick cotton than pick the president, than pick their congressperson, than pick a senator.”
A week before the primary, at a rally for Markey, Pressley argued that the country’s problems extend beyond the current president.
“It is bigger than Trump. Because whenever we do the work of ousting the occupant of the Oval Office, the Confederacy is still alive and well. That’s all MAGA is. White supremacy is still alive and well. Anti-Blackness will still be alive and well.”
In April, when introducing a bill aimed at providing relief to people facing eviction, Pressley described evictions as “an act of violence.”
Questions Over Personal Finances
Pressley’s own financial disclosures have drawn scrutiny from critics. Her 2024 filing showed that she and her husband, Conan Harris, reported $8 million in assets tied to four Massachusetts rental properties.
In July, Harris faced additional attention after a company he partners with, CoJo Real Estate, secured a $2 billion state contract to build a new Massachusetts courthouse. John Barros, a key partner in CoJo Real Estate, later divested from the company amid ethics concerns over how the contract had been awarded.
Losing bidders for the courthouse project have since filed suit, pointing to Barros’ departure as evidence of wrongdoing. Pressley herself is not named as a wrongdoer in that lawsuit.
