Boston's Ayanna Pressley follows trail blazed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
After an upset victory in Massachusetts Democratic primary, the city councilor joins a wave of women of color in national politics
The air was electric and full of voters yelling “change can’t wait” in a Boston union hall, as they celebrated the unseating of a 10-term congressman by a 44-year-old African American Boston city councilor.
Ayanna Pressley is heading to the US Congress in the latest remarkable upset in this year’s primaries in advance of the November midterm elections. Pressley, a Democrat, beat the incumbent representative Michael Capuano.
A part of the wave of women of color breaking into traditionally white positions of power across the country, Pressley’s win echoed that of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s over the longtime representative Joe Crowley in New York, and the ascent of Stacey Abrams in Georgia, who – if she wins – will become the first African American female governor in US history.
Pressley represents the latest underdog candidate to have emerged to challenge both establishment Democrats and Republicans. From Andrew Gillum in Florida to Beto O’Rourke in Texas, the results suggest a shift towards a bolder, progressive agenda in stark contrast – and a reaction to – the managerialism of Hillary Clinton’s last campaign.
A survivor of sexual assault at Boston University and during her childhood, Pressley has been a vocal supporter of victims of sexual violence since long before the #MeToo movement.
She was raised by her single mother, Sandra Pressley, on the north side of Chicago while her father, Martin Pressley, battled addiction and spent much of her childhood in prison. They moved to Brooklyn, and Pressley attended Boston University from 1992 to 1994, but left school to work full time at a hotel to support her mother.
Pressleyhas been a member of the council for nine years, and previously worked as a staffer for Senator John Kerry and Representative Joseph Kennedy II. She was the first serious challenger to Capuano since he took office in the late 1990s. Capuano has been an established progressive Democrat, supporting issues like single-payer healthcare. In polls leading up to Tuesday, Capuano led by double digits.
Pressley had campaigned heavily on issues such as defunding US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and passing a clean Dream Act to support young undocumented immigrants.
During the race, Capuano raised $1.73m to Pressley’s $890,000, actively campaigning against her and even cancelling his vacation as soon as he heard she was running.
Pressley has already broken ground, being the first woman of color to be elected to the city council in its over 100-year history back in 2009. Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Pressley, sending her media attention in the final leg of her campaign. She recently earned the endorsement of the Boston Globe.
No Republican is on the ballot for the seventh congressional district race in November, so the Pressley will most likely be heading to Washington in 2019.
Pressley lives in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston with her husband, Conan Harris, and stepdaughter.
The Dorchester resident Carla Monteiro, 35, voted for Pressley because, she said, she felt a strong connection to her history, and felt Pressley had a record of making change. “I voted for Pressley because she has and will challenge policies,” she said.
Monteiro says as a woman raised by a single mother coming from a “tough neighborhood”, she can relate to Pressley “in so many ways”.
Capuano relied on his record during the campaign, pointing to his opposition to Donald Trump’s agenda in ads and speeches. In a concession speech on Tuesday night, he said: “Ayanna Pressley is going to be a good congresswoman.”
