Stephen Lynch (politician) - U.S. House of Representatives Election, 2001

U.S. House of Representatives Election, 2001

Lynch announced his candidacy for the 9th district seat in 2001, when longtime incumbent U.S. Representative Joe Moakley, stricken with leukemia, decided not to seek a 17th term the following year. This was a departure from Lynch's previous plan to run for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. Moakley died in May 2001, before his term ended, and Lynch announced a run for the special election to succeed him. The early frontrunner of the race was lawyer Max Kennedy, son of Democratic U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Political missteps dragged Kennedy down in the polls, and his abrupt departure in June 2001 put Lynch in the lead. The remaining candidates included eight Democrats and two Republicans, all with similar political positions; according to The Boston Globe, the candidates "struggled to find areas of conflict" when debating.

In the September Democratic primary, Lynch's main opponents were state Senators Cheryl Jacques, Brian Joyce and Marc Pacheco. During the campaign, Lynch faced criticism as his past improprieties were uncovered, including two arrests, defaulting on student loans, and a long history of tax delinquency. He was attacked by gay rights advocates for "a history of supporting anti-gay legislation". Despite these setbacks, Lynch maintained strong local support going into the primary. As Lynch pulled ahead in polls and fundraising, Jacques and Joyce attacked his 1994 racial violence case and subsequent positions on hate crime as evidence that he was not supportive of civil rights.

On September 11, 2001, Lynch won the Democratic primary with about 40 percent of the vote. The same day, the September 11 attacks took place, which dampened the ensuing general election campaign between Lynch and the Republican nominee, state Senator Jo Ann Sprague. As both sides turned to similar themes of patriotism and defense, Lynch benefited from the demographics of his district, heavily Catholic, Democratic and urban, allowing him to defeat Sprague by 65 to 33 percent in the October 16 election. He was sworn into the 107th Congress on October 23, 2001. The ceremony had been delayed for a weekend, as the 2001 anthrax attacks had led to a shutdown of Congressional office buildings. In a press conference after his swearing-in, Lynch remarked on the unlikelihood of his career path, comparing himself to Jed Clampett of The Beverly Hillbillies.