Memo to Congressman Stephen Lynch

Memo to Congressman Lynch

Congressman Stephen Lynch of the 8th District of Massachusetts has seen much success in his current position; he has won every re-election battle by a wide margin since his first win in 2001. He has been known as someone who embodies the ideal of delegate representation, where the politician must and must only voice the needs of his or her constituents. This has worked well for Lynch at the congressional level, and for the previous positions he has held (notably the Massachusetts House of Representatives and State Senate). While his dedication to his constituents has won their trust at the Congressional level, it failed to propel him to a victory over Ed Markey in the special 2013 election to fill former Senator John Kerry’s spot. Congressman Lynch is now considered a potential candidate for the 2014 Massachusetts Gubernatorial election. If Lynch decides to put his name in for the running, he is going to have to continue to show support for his constituents, propose or back a major piece of legislation, and continue to raise more money for proper advertising.

Stephen Lynch was a middle-class iron worker for seventeen before his first foray into politics. He did, however, become part of their Union early on. He would go on to become president of that Union (The Iron Workers’ Union) and was their youngest president ever elected. While in the Union, Lynch worked in a number of locations across Massachusetts. This background made him an appealing candidate for middle or working class citizens in the Boston area, and helped him win the special election to the House of Representatives in October of 2001 (Full Biography). Since then, he has won re-election five times with an average of 72% of the vote. Although he ran largely unopposed for some of these years, even the years with a solid competitor saw him win with percentages in the high 60’s or low 70’s (PoliGu.com). Lynch remains the Congressman representing the Boston area in the 8th disctrict. He lost in the primary of a 2013 special election to Ed Markey, who took the place of Senator Kerry, who was appointed President Obama’s Secretary of State.

Massachusetts is typically considered a liberal state. There is evidence for this, with Massachusetts being the first state to legalize gay marriage, an early adopter of medical marijuana, and using a system of universal healthcare years before The Affordable Care Act was conceptualized. Liberalism implies Democratic, and while not always true, it is partially true in Massachusetts. The last two Senators elected, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, have been Democrats. Deval Patrick, the current governor, is also a Democrat. Data from a 2009 Gallup poll shows that Massachusetts is one of the strongest Democrat-leaning states, with 34 percentage points, trailing only behind Rhode Island (and Washington DC) (Gallup, 2009). A map of the data illustrates that this may have