In the News

August 7, 2026 | Tirzah Mason

Marcela García’s July 28 Opinion column framing Tram Nguyen as the primary female contender in the race to succeed Seth Moulton in the Sixth Congressional District missed the mark (“Tram Nguyen is being outspent. Don’t count her out”). It ignores the rest of the field, including former state Representative Jamie Belsito, as well as two other candidates. Nguyen is not the only woman running, nor is she the only candidate with state legislative experience. Belsito’s campaign is robust and a serious challenge to those García designates as front-runners.

While Nguyen’s background as an immigrant is compelling, lived experience alone does not substitute for a proven track record. Being a female candidate does not automatically grant someone the mantle of advocate for women. That title is earned through years of action.

Belsito has spent her career showing up for women, mothers, and families. In a field where big money dominates, Belsito stands out as the candidate who is neither taking money from political action committees nor relying on personal access to wealth to buy a seat.

Voters in our district deserve coverage that weighs records, ethics, and independence, not just selective headlines.

August 6, 2026 | Dylan Pichnarcik

Jamie Belsito stopped short of naming rivals, but her comments underscored a central tension of the primary: whether well‑funded campaigns backed by wealthy donors can truly claim to represent voters’ frustrations with a money‑driven political system.

“Money can’t buy an election. But we’re seeing that approach being taken this time around, and we’re also seeing that money is dictating who is running in this race,” Belsito said.

She added, “The more that we allow money to dictate and have our seats be bought, we’re not going to see Medicare for all. We’re not going to see education reform. We’re not going to see a Voting Rights Act. We’re not going to see the change that we deserve because we’ve allowed money to dictate our politics.”

Belsito also argued that Beacon Hill has “not [been] helping us move forward” on housing, criticizing state lawmakers for rejecting rent stabilization.

“Even our state legislature is not helping us move forward to address these things, so we should talk to our legislators about why this is not happening.”

She also called on “the rep” — a clear reference to state Rep. Tram T. Nguyen (18-Essex), the only sitting legislator on the stage — to “talk about the fact that we decided that rent stabilization wasn’t a thing that we were going to do in the Massachusetts legislature, but that legalizing starter homes needed to be a ballot initiative.”

August 3, 2026 | Tréa Lavery

Despite their statements denouncing super PACs, Koh and state Rep. Tram Nguyen, D-18th Essex, have been accused of soliciting their support through a practice known as red boxing. Both candidates maintain pages on their campaign websites with instructions on what messages PACs should seek to spread about them, and who they want to receive those messages. In an interview Wednesday, former state Rep. Jamie Belsito, who’s also running for the open 6th District seat, characterized the practice as “lying and manipulation.” She said those strategies have contributed to voters being disengaged from politics. “We are what I consider to be a no-BS zone in this district,” Belsito said. “At the same time, we have two candidates that are completely manipulating our voting population ... It’s just another signal as to why the Democratic establishment is completely out of touch with the average American.”

July 31, 2026 | Matt Prichard

She’s a former state rep., serves as Topsfield’s town moderator and has a long track record in Washington, working behind the scenes to advocate for and obtain funding for maternal mental health issues. Jamie Belsito is taking a direct approach in identifying the problems with the 6th District, President Trump and divisive issues that the country is facing. Matt Prichard speaks to Jamie about her vision for the 6th District.

July 21, 2026 | Will Dowd

Belsito had the best spring of the group, more than doubling her first-quarter haul, and she has the most local money in the race. “I’ll show you my tax returns,” she said at Swampscott, “and you’ll cry because I’m broke.” Asked later whether she meant it, she said she would gladly show them, and that she “knows what it’s like to lose a job, to lose her health insurance and to almost lose her home.” Her campaign said it runs a lower burn rate than its rivals, raised $50,000 in the last five days of the quarter and leans on more than 300 volunteers and field captains ranging in age from 15 to 85 — the kind of organization no filing captures.

July 21, 2026 | Olivia Haydar

Former State Rep. Jamie Belsito, who is also running for Congress, shared how thankful she is to be speaking as a mother and how encouraging it is to see a mother like Dominique do so much for the community. “It’s about being here for each other, and I’m just grateful to be here in this way,” Belsito said. Considering the weather outside, the flag was drawn open with all of its colors inside the City Hall foyer by Dominique, friends, and even City Councilor Cardeliz Paez.

June 18, 2026 | Anjali Huynh

Belsito then interjected: “You know the system’s broken when you have $2 million of your own dollars to self-fund a campaign,” drawing applause from the crowd. Belsito, who called the race an example of “class warfare,” also referenced Koh’s father, Howard Koh, who served as a public health official in the Obama administration, while saying her father, a floor layer, “can’t call anybody to help me in Congress.”

“I don’t have, and the majority on the stage do not have, access to the wealth that you do to be running for this race, and that is part of the problem of what this race has presented,” Belsito said.

June 17, 2026 | Tréa Lavery

Corporate money was also of concern among the candidates for its effects on federal politics. Former state Rep. Jamie Belsito went as far as to call the 6th District race “class warfare,” alluding to campaign donations that Koh has received from major tech companies such as Palantir. Belsito argued that donations like these were why Congress had so far failed to enact regulations on artificial intelligence. “They’re receiving kickbacks and they receive campaign finance support from these same people,” she said. “They’re making money while they’re in Congress and the rest of us are the ones suffering ... our resources are being sucked dry.”

June 8, 2026 | Monica Sager

Massachusetts Peace Action has endorsed Jamie Belsito in her campaign for Congress. Belsito joined the nonpartisan organization in a community advocates meet and greet Sunday in Beverly. “With Seth Moulton running for Senate, the 6th district is open. Jamie Belsito, a past MAPA endorsee in her previous challenge to Moulton, is running an anti-establishment and pro-peace campaign,” MAPA said in a statement. “We trust in Belsito’s strong record on peace and progressive issues.”

“I am so deeply grateful to receive this endorsement from the Massachusetts Peace Action Committee,” Belsito said. “MAPA has been an unwavering voice against senseless war, genocide, and all abuses against humanity perpetrated across the globe. I cannot wait to work with them in office, and to continue this fight against the weapons manufacturers and war profiteers trying to win this seat and countless others across the U.S.”

June 2, 2026 | Sunny Robinson

Massachusetts Peace Action endorses Jamie Belsito for Congress in Congressional District 6. Belsito is far and away the most outstanding candidate on all the peace and justice issues that MAPA cares about and indeed holds the same positions and values that MAPA does. She is similarly strong and clear on the importance of all the social policy issues MAPA asks about and has advocated for.

There is no other candidate for the open seat in CD6 who consistently aligns with MAPA’s positions on these issues and has continued to speak out on them over these last years since she last sought public office. 

May 17, 2026 | Center for Strategic Politics

When respondents are asked who they would vote for if the Democratic primary for MA-6 were held today, 59% are undecided. But after voters read balanced biographies (with positive and negative arguments) for the candidates, that number drops to 35% while Beth Andres-Beck and Jamie Belsito take the lead.

May 14, 2026 | Christian M. Wade

Former state Rep. Jamie Belsito, one of six Democrats seeking the party’s nomination to run for the 6th Congressional District, said she plans to meet with voters outside Dunkins’ in every community in sprawling district, which includes portions of 39 cities and towns. Belsito kicked off her Dunkin’ campaign tour this week, posting a video out a Danvers store criticizing Democratic rival Dan Koh for touting former president Joe Biden’s endorsement of his candidacy and his support from political action committees. “I grew up in Reading. My husband and I are raising our kids in Topsfield,” Belsito said. “While Dan’s campaign is being funded by billionaires and DC insiders who don’t care about you, we’re going door-to-door and talking to real people about the issues that impact us all — at Market Basket and Dunkin’ Donuts.”

May 7, 2026 | Erin Hickey

Belsito, a former state representative and maternal mental health advocate, focused heavily on healthcare and working-class issues during her opening remarks, pointing to both her legislative experience and advocacy work. “I know what it’s like to struggle and what it takes to fight back for change,” Belsito said.

Belsito, who challenged Moulton in 2020, criticized what she described as his reliance on outside political money.

“I had a problem with the billionaire super PAC money that he was taking,” Belsito said. “It was not a grassroots operation. It was not representative of the people that I’m going to represent.”

“Our seats are for sale,” Belsito said while discussing PAC money and campaign donations. “I’m not taking that money. I’m not doing super PACs. I want to represent you.”

April 30, 2026 | Monica Sager

“Our team, our grassroots supporters, and our volunteers got us on the ballot,” Belsito said. “This campaign is built by and for the people of this district.”

“I was raised here. I’m a product of our public schools and public higher education. I’m raising my family here,” Belsito said. “I’m a public school parent, I shop at Market Basket, my family is making tough financial choices, we are watching our electric bill climb, and I constantly think about the future our kids will inherit."

“I want to say that’s something I am committed to and making sure that we have community based organizations to source for our health care,” Belsito said. “That experience led me to be founder of the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance from my kitchen table and elevate maternal mental health, substance use disorder as a federal and state priority.”

March 13, 2026 | John P. Muldoon

State Auditor Diana DiZoglio has endorsed Jamie Belsito in the MA-6 congressional race. “I believe we need a fierce advocate for this district going to D.C. to fight our battles. We have a lot of challenges we are facing … Our democracy is under attack. We need bold, visionary leaders who don’t forget where they came from,” DiZoglio said of Belsito. “The working people of Massachusetts deserve someone who is going to stand up to special interests.” DiZoglio, who has fought a running battle with fellow Democrats in an attempt to audit State House finances, said Belsito never tried “to ingratiate herself with the powers that be on Beacon Hill. And, I’m sorry, but if you can’t stand up to the speaker of the house in Boston, how the hell are you going to stand up to Donald Trump in D.C.?" ...The Belsito campaign said more than 200 people attended the kick-off event on Saturday.

March 2, 2026 | John P. Muldoon

Calling the Israeli and American attacks on Iran “an illegal war,” Congressional candidate Jamie Belsito warned the U.S. could be entering into another open-ended war in the Middle East... Belsito asked what military action does to “expand healthcare access, or address our crumbling infrastructure and homelessness crisis?” “We must put an end to the diversion of billions more of our national budget to the overinflated Department of War. It’s needed for the programs Americans rely on to survive, programs that have already been gutted by this administration,” she said. Belsito said she refuses to take money from weapons contractors “because we need leaders who are not bought and owned, and who can check the reckless decisions and crimes of this President without pause.”

February 13, 2026 | Monica Sager

As millions of dollars pour into the 6th Congressional District race, candidate Jamie Belsito is calling on her opponents to join her in taking the People’s Pledge, a commitment to reject money from corporate Political Action Committees (PACs), Super PACs, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), billionaires and corporate executives.... “The people of our district deserve to know who their candidates answer to. I’m running my campaign on the belief that the voices of the hardworking people of the 6th Congressional District matter more than corporate donors and political insiders,” Belsito said in a press release sent to the Swampscott Tides. “That’s why I’ve taken The People’s Pledge, and why I’m calling on every candidate in this race to do the same. Our communities are not for sale.”

February 12, 2026 | Kelly Garrity

Another batch of local officials is endorsing former state Rep. Jamie Belsito in the Democratic primary to replace Rep. Seth Moulton in the state’s 6th Congressional District. The list includes Topsfield Select Board Members Boyd Jackson, Robert Kmetz, Rafael McDonald and Michelle Mercier-Link; and Beverly City Councilor Steve Crowley.

February 4, 2026 | Mia Hemstead

Jamie Belsito, MMHLA’s Founder and Director of Policy and Partnerships, says that “We know that maternal mental health conditions are the leading cause of maternal mortality, contributing to 23% of maternal deaths. This funding is critical to support new moms and families and will save lives.”

January 8, 2026 | Kelly Garrity

Former Gloucester Mayor Greg Verga is endorsing former state Rep. Jamie Belsito in the Democratic primary for Rep. Seth Moulton's seat in Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District. "Jamie is a proven leader who shows up and gets things done. Like me, she's from a working class family, so when it comes to kitchen table issues, she doesn't just talk the talk, she walks the walk," Verga said in a statement...