Moulton received pushback from local Democratic leaders and LGBTQ advocates nationally and in Massachusetts for comments he made about transgender youth in sports after Democrats’ losses in the 2024 election. According to Politico, some primary challengers could be emerging.

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Dan Koh, a former Andover, Massachusetts, selectman, has been making and fielding calls about a run in 2026. Koh narrowly lost the Democratic primary for the open seat to Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA) in 2018 in a neighboring district.

Koh served as chief of staff to former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, whom he showed great loyalty to, following Walsh to Washington, D.C., when President Joe Biden tapped him to lead the Labor department. He currently works as deputy director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, but he has kept his home in Andover. 

Despite working in Washington, he still owns a home in Andover, which was swept into Moulton’s district as a result of redistricting in 2021.

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Salem, Massachusetts, Mayor Dominick Pangallo was rumored to be interested in challenging Moulton after he headlined a fundraiser with Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll (D-MA), but in a statement to Politico, Pangallo squashed those rumors, saying he was not interested in a congressional bid this cycle.

“I really enjoy the job I have now, and I think local government is the best way to make a positive difference in people’s lives,” he told the outlet.

Following Democrats’ losses earlier this month, Moulton suggested that the Democratic Party’s acceptance of biological males playing in girls’ sports could be traced to the party’s losses. Moulton said Democrats had spent “too much time trying not to offend anyone.”

“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.”

Since the comments, which resulted in his campaign manager resigning and many Massachusetts and national Democrats condemning him, Moulton has defended his remarks. He argued that he is providing a voice to a popular but rarely expressed view among Democratic lawmakers.

“I’ve never had more people, parents and, by the way, a lot of LGBTQ community members, reach out to me and say, ‘Thank you for saying this,’” Moulton told the New York Times. “Some of them are just speaking authentically as parents. Some of them believe the trans movement has gone too far. It is imperiling the progress we’ve made.”

Because of this, some strategists also believe that other Democrats could seize on these comments and run a race against Moulton.

“I believe that he is vulnerable, and it’s not just because of the recent comments,” Democratic political consultant Doug Rubin told Politico. “Challenging [former Speaker Nancy] Pelosi a while ago, the run for president — I think all of those things have the potential to rub voters the wrong way in his district and provide an opening for a candidate to make a credible campaign.”