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 candidate 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.
With no opposition on the ballot, Pressley still hit the campaign trail this cycle, appearing with state Rep. Tram Nguyen, a Democratic candidate for District 6 who, like Pressley, supports abolishing ICE, implementing Medicare for all, and ending military aid to Israel. Pressley also campaigned alongside Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
Sharp Rhetoric on Trump and the Court
Free of any electoral pressure, Pressley used the cycle to escalate her criticism of President Donald Trump and the Supreme Court’s conservative majority. After the Court’s 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which found that creating a second majority-Black district amounted to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering, Pressley accused the Trump administration of being “anti-Black” and said 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 said white supremacy is thriving under the current administration.
“It is bigger than Trump,” Pressley said. “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 legislation aimed at providing relief to people facing eviction, Pressley called evictions “an act of violence.”
Financial Scrutiny at Home
Pressley’s own finances have drawn criticism from opponents. Her 2024 financial disclosure showed that she and her husband, Conan Harris, reported $8 million in assets tied to four Massachusetts rental properties.
In July, Harris faced additional scrutiny after a company he partners with, CoJo Real Estate, secured a $2 billion state contract to build a new courthouse in Massachusetts. John Barros, a key partner in CoJo Real Estate, divested from the company over ethics concerns tied to how the contract was awarded.
Losing bidders on the courthouse project have since filed suit, pointing to Barros’ departure as evidence of wrongdoing. Pressley herself is not accused of wrongdoing in that lawsuit.
Despite the controversies surrounding her household finances and her husband’s business dealings, Pressley heads into November with a clear path back to Congress, unopposed by either party.
