Dems Vow to Oust Congressman for Questioning Party’s ‘Purity Test’ on Identity Politics, Trans Issues

Democrats in Massachusetts are vowing to find a challenger to defeat Democratic Representative Seth Moulton for publicly questioning his party’s overreliance on identity politics and saying he wouldn’t want his daughters to play against men in sports, a blasphemy that cannot be tolerated in progressive circles.

Liz Bradt, chairwoman of the Salem Democratic City Committee, told the Boston Globe that Moulton’s comments were “egregious,” “transphobic,” and “just a huge slap in the face to a number of our members.” She said she’s heard from “several” people in the state’s sixth district who are considering running against Moulton when he’s up for reelection in 2026.

“We will find someone to run against him and win,” Bradt said.

In an interview with the Globe, Bradt acknowledged that she compared Moulton to a Nazi “cooperator,” in an email to a former Moulton campaign staffer. She defended the comment, saying, “I worry very much about people, politicians who look to see which way the wind is blowing and say things like this.”

Salem city councilman Kyle Davis similarly told Fox News that he intends to support a candidate to challenge Moulton. “I certainly am calling on Seth Moulton to resign and will be supporting any Democrat and LGBT ally that runs against him,” he said.

Speaking to the New York Times after this month’s elections, Moulton cited identity politics as a contributing factor to his party’s struggles, specifically mentioning Democrats’ increasingly hard-left and nonnegotiable stances on transgender issues.

“I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete,” he said. “But as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”

Moulton told reporters this week that the backlash he’s received for his comments proves his point. He said people should be able to disagree on gender issues.

“Yet there are many who, shouting from the extreme left corners of social media, believe I have failed the unspoken Democratic Party purity test,” he said. “We did not lose the 2024 election because of any trans person or issue. We lost, in part, because we shame and belittle too many opinions held by too many voters, and that needs to stop.”

As for potential Democratic challengers, he told Fox: “It’s a democracy. If you want to run against me, go for it.”

Moulton has served in Congress since 2015. He didn’t face an opponent in the Democratic primary or the general election this year. In 2022, he won the general election with about 63 percent of the vote. He won his last primary challenge in 2020 with about 78 percent of the vote.

In addition to Democrats calling for his ouster, the chairman of Tufts University’s political science department recently called Moulton’s office to say he’d “consulted with his colleagues,” and they decided they would no longer facilitate internships with the office, according to the Globe. However, Tufts University leaders overruled him, saying they won’t limit opportunities with the congressman’s office.