Stephen Francis Lynch
In 1994, Lynch was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. During his tenure, his advocacy for South Boston helped propel him to the Massachusetts Senate in 1995, when he won a special election to succeed state senator William Bulger. Lynch won a special election to represent the state's 9th district in the United States House of Representatives in 2001, and has been reelected ever since. His district was redrawn into the 8th district in 2013. He sits on the Financial Services and Oversight and Government Reform Committees. Lynch ran for the Democratic nomination in the 2013 special election for the U.S. Senate, losing to Ed Markey.
Early life, education, and business career
The fourth of six children, Lynch was born on March 31, 1955, in the neighborhood of South Boston. He was raised with his five sisters in the Old Colony Housing Project. His father, Francis Lynch, was an ironworker. His mother, Anne (née Havlin), was a post office worker. Both parents came from fourth-generation South Boston families. He attended St. Augustine Elementary School and South Boston High School. During high school vacations he began working in construction alongside his father. After graduating from high school in 1973, Lynch became an apprentice ironworker. For the next six years he worked on high-altitude structural ironwork throughout the country for various companies, including General Motors and U.S. Steel. Around this time, he developed "a problem with alcohol", leading him to join Alcoholics Anonymous. (He reportedly left AA after meeting his future wife several years later, but continued to attend occasional meetings through the 2000s.)
When a 1979 blizzard forced his project in Wisconsin to shut down, he spent the extra time taking courses at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Shortly thereafter, his father was diagnosed with cancer, and so Lynch returned to Boston.
Massachusetts House of Representatives
thumb|180px|Lynch in 1995
In early 1994 he phoned Paul J. Gannon, the Democratic state representative from the 4th Suffolk district, to announce a run against him. and said that this issue was the main reason he was entering the race. He described himself as against gay rights and legalized abortion. He led the opposition to a proposed asphalt plant in South Bay, and sponsored an amendment to a state bond bill that banned its construction.
While in the state House, Lynch advocated an amendment to Massachusetts's hate crimes law that would allow people accused of homophobic crimes to use a "gay panic" defense, reducing the penalties for the offense.
Massachusetts Senate
When President of the Massachusetts Senate William Bulger announced his resignation from his 1st Suffolk seat in late 1995, Lynch filed nomination papers for the special election to replace him. Bulger's son, attorney William M. Bulger, Jr., also ran for the seat, as did another lawyer, Patrick Loftus. Lynch won the March 1996 primary, defeating Bulger Jr. and Loftus 56%–35%–9%. In April, he defeated Republican Richard William Czubinski 96%–4%, and he was inaugurated on May 1, 1996. He was reelected unopposed in 1996, 1998, and 2000.
As a state senator, Lynch continued to lead opposition to the proposed football stadium and vocally opposed a proposal to sell the publicly owned Marine Industrial Park. He opposed a hate-crimes bill that would have made racially charged language a felony, and hearkened back to the 1994 racial violence case as an example, arguing that the bill "attacks merely words" and "prosecutes young people who, in my opinion, haven't developed the responsibility and wisdom to measure their words." In 1997 he was named Senate Chairman of the Joint Committee on Commerce and Labor. In response to a budget crisis in the state's nursing homes, due primarily to Medicaid shortfalls, Lynch filed an unsuccessful bill in April 2001 to increase Medicaid funding by $200 million. While in the Senate, he enrolled at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, from which he graduated with a master's degree in 1999. Massachusetts law prohibits any elected official from holding more than one office. Following his election to Congress, Lynch resigned on October 16, 2001 and was sworn in as a member of Congress on October 23.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
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. 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 remaining candidates included eight Democrats and two Republicans. All the remaining candidates had similar political positions and according to The Boston Globe, the candidates "struggled to find areas of conflict" when debating.
Lynch's main opponents in the primary were State Senators Cheryl Jacques, Brian A. Joyce and Marc R. Pacheco. During the campaign, Lynch faced criticism as his past improprieties were uncovered, including two arrests, defaulting on student loans, and a history of tax delinquency. Gay rights advocates attacked him for "a history of supporting anti-gay legislation." Still, Lynch maintained strong local support going into the primary. The same day, the September 11 attacks took place, which dampened the ensuing general election race between Lynch and the Republican nominee, state Senator Jo Ann Sprague. On October 16, he defeated Sprague, 65%-33%.
Electoral history
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
|+
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" rowspan=2 | Year
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" rowspan=2 | Office
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Party
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" colspan=3 | Primary
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" colspan=3 | General
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" rowspan=2 | Result
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Swing
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" rowspan=2 | .
|-
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | Total
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | %
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | .
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | Total
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | %
! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | .
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 1994
| rowspan=1 | State House
| rowspan="19" style="background-color:;" |
| rowspan="19" | Democratic
| 4,618
| 54.21%
| 1st
| 9,836
| 100%
| 1st
|
| rowspan="19" style="background-color:;" |
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 1996
| rowspan=4 | State Senate
| 8,519
| 55.88%
| 1st
| 5,657
| 96.24%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 1996
| 7,591
| 99.99%
| 1st
| 25,824
| 99.96%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 1998
| 10,422
| 100%
| 1st
| 20,544
| 100%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2000
| 2,648
| 100%
| 1st
| 28,429
| 99.99%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2001
| rowspan="7" | U.S. House
| 44,905
| 39.44%
| 1st
| 44,943
| 64.97%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2002
| 69,244
| 80.57%
| 1st
| 168,055
| 99.45%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2004
| 37,035
| 98.83%
| 1st
| 218,167
| 99.03%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2006
| 75,323
| 77.13%
| 1st
| 169,420
| 78.06%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2008
| 40,332
| 98.85%
| 1st
| 242,166
| 98.72%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2010
| 42,527
| 64.71%
| 1st
| 157,071
| 68.30%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2012
| 29,352
| 98.76%
| 1st
| 263,999
| 76.12%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2013
| rowspan=1 | U.S. Senate
| 230,335
| 42.44%
| 2nd
| colspan=4 | N/A
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2014
| rowspan="6" | U.S. House
| 51,077
| 99.03%
| 1st
| 200,644
| 98.67%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2016
| 27,335
| 97.37%
| 1st
| 271,019
| 72.41%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2018
| 52,269
| 70.88%
| 1st
| 259,159
| 98.42%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2020
| 111,542
| 66.40%
| 1st
| 310,940
| 80.68%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2022
| 73,191
| 99.03%
| 1st
| 189,987
| 69.70%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2024
| 64,761
| 98.69%
| 1st
| 265,432
| 70.44%
| 1st
|
| Hold
|
|-
| style="background-color:#EAECF0;" colspan=14 | Source: Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Election Results
|}
Tenure
Lynch 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. He is a moderate Democrat by Massachusetts standards, but a fairly liberal one by national standards. He generally votes more moderate on social issues and liberal on economic and environmental issues. "Calling me the least liberal member from Massachusetts is like calling me the slowest Kenyan in the Boston Marathon", he said in 2010. "It's all relative." He is strongly pro-labor and has focused on bringing manufacturing jobs to his district. He is a co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus.
Lynch's words at a rally in early 2025 attracted national attention, as he argued with constituents who called on him to consistently oppose conservative legislation, and challenged them to run to replace him.
Lynch voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Financial Services
- Subcommittee on Capital Markets
- Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion (Ranking Member)
- Committee on Oversight and Accountability
- Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs
- Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government
Caucus memberships
- Congressional Arts Caucus
- Afterschool Caucuses
- Congressional Equality Caucus
- Climate Solutions Caucus
- Blue Collar Caucus
- Congressional Coalition on Adoption
- Congressional Blockchain Caucus
- Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
- Rare Disease Caucus
Economy and finance
Lynch has been a member of the House Financial Services Committee since his first term. He supported President Barack Obama's economic agenda, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
Lynch has focused on trade policy as a congressman. In 2002 he voted against fast track bills that gave the president the authority to negotiate trade deals without amendments by Congress.
thumb|left|260px|The ninth congressional district of Massachusetts in the 109th Congress. The district, numbered as the 9th district from 2001 to 2013, includes the southern fourth of [[Boston and many of Boston's southern suburbs, such as Brockton, Dedham, Needham, Braintree and Quincy.]]
Domestic policy
Lynch advocates health care reform but split with his party on Obama's health care reform efforts. He voted in November 2009 to pass the Affordable Health Care for America Act (AHCAA), the House's health care reform bill. This bill was scrapped by Congressional leaders in favor of the Senate's bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Despite pressure from Obama and Democratic leaders, Lynch said he would oppose the PPACA until "they put reform back in the health reform bill." He described the Senate bill as a "surrender" to insurance companies, putting too little pressure on them to reduce costs. He explained, "There's a difference between compromise and surrender, right? And this is a complete surrender of all the things that people thought were important to health care reform." When the PPACA came to a House vote in March 2010, he was the only U.S. representative from New England to vote against it.
On social issues, Lynch was considered a conservative to moderate Democrat in the 2000s. He sided with conservatives in the 2005 Terri Schiavo case, voting for federal court intervention. In more recent years, he has advocated and defended funding for Planned Parenthood. In 2021, Lynch voted for the Women's Health Protection Act, signifying a significant shift in his position on the issue.
Lynch has mostly sided with Democratic leaders on gay rights issues in recent years, opposing a Federal Marriage Amendment and supporting granting medical benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. He now supports same-sex marriage. Lynch's 2022 reelection campaign touted his support for the Equality Act; he is also a member of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.
In September 2016, Lynch announced on WBUR that he would vote for the November 2016 ballot question that sought to expand the number of charter schools in the state.
On January 3, 2021, the beginning of the 117th Congress, Lynch became the last remaining incumbent House Democrat to have voted against the Affordable Care Act.
In 2025, Lynch opposed the construction of 70 housing units on the lot of a vacant industrial building in the Dorchester Avenue corridor. Lynch criticized that the proposed building, which was in walking distance of Red Line stops and bus lines, did not include any parking. The developer noted that providing at least 14 parking spaces for the building would increase the cost by $75,000 per housing unit.
2020 coronavirus response efforts
During an April 2020 House Oversight Committee Hearing that included testimony from Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Lynch grew angry over federal miscommunications about the availability of coronavirus testing, and said that cases of COVID-19 had doubled in his district just the day before.
Foreign policy and veterans
In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee had oversight of airport security and some elements of the War in Afghanistan. Lynch sat on the Veterans' Affairs Committee for his first term. Lynch voted for increased foreign aid to Pakistan in 2009, but, along with Oversight Chairman John F. Tierney, pushed for strict oversight of the aid's distribution.
Lynch supports lifting the United States' economic sanctions on Cuba. Moakley, his predecessor, was heavily involved in Latin American affairs, and Lynch has made an effort to continue this work. He joined five other congressmen on a 2002 visit to Cuba, where they met with President Fidel Castro.
U.S. Senate campaigns
Upon the death of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, Massachusetts state law triggered a special election to be held in January 2010. On September 4, 2009, a representative for Lynch took out nomination papers in preparation of a special election run. After speaking with his family and citing the short time frame in which to conduct a campaign, Lynch decided not to seek the Democratic nomination for the seat.
Lynch announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate on January 31, 2013, seeking to fill the seat then held by John Kerry, who had resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State. Lynch's candidacy in the 2013 special election had been portrayed as an uphill battle against Representative Ed Markey, who had a larger war chest and several major party endorsements. A Politico profile compared Lynch's "common-man touch" and moderate views to that of Republican Scott Brown, who won the 2010 special Senate election by connecting with independent voters.
Personal life
Lynch dated Margaret Shaughnessy for 10 years before the two married in 1992. An aide to state Senator Marian Walsh, Shaughnessy was from another South Boston family, one of seven children, and majored in graphic design at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She went to high school with Lynch's sisters, and she and Lynch were members of the South Boston Residents Group. , the Lynches live in South Boston with their daughter and a niece. For most of his career, Lynch has been listed in the member's roll as "D-South Boston".
He is first cousins with Boston-based restaurateur Barbara Lynch.
References
External links
- Congressman Stephen Lynch official U.S. House website
- Stephen Lynch for Congress campaign website
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