BOSTON (AP) — Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley has decided to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano in the Democratic primary for the state’s 7th Congressional District.
Pressley said in a statement Tuesday she made the decision after prayer and deliberation. She said residents of the district need more than just an ally, they need an advocate and a champion.
Pressley has served on the city council since first taking office in 2010.
Capuano, a former Somerville mayor, was first elected to Congress in 1998.
The district — which was redrawn in 2011 to become the state’s first “minority-majority” district — includes Chelsea, Everett, Randolph, and Somerville, about 70 percent of Boston and about half of Cambridge and Milton.
If elected, Pressley would be the only black member of the state’s congressional delegation.
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