Stephen Lynch
Stephen Lynch, a Democrat who has served in the U.S. House since 2001 and represented Massachusetts's 8th congressional district since 2013, is seeking re-election in 2026 against Republican Robert Burke.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
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- Born
- March 31, 1955
- Birthplace
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Education
- South Boston High School (1973)
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Wentworth Institute of Technology (bachelor's degree in construction management, 1988)
Boston College Law School (JD, 1991)
Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government (master's degree, 1999)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Stephen Lynch was born on March 31, 1955, in the South Boston neighborhood of Boston, the fourth of six children, and was raised in the Old Colony Housing Project. His father, Francis Lynch, was an ironworker, and his mother, Anne, was a post office worker.
After graduating from South Boston High School in 1973, Lynch became an apprentice ironworker and spent six years on structural ironwork across the country.
In the early 1980s he was elected to the executive board of the Iron Workers Local 7 union, becoming at 30 the youngest president in the local's history, while attending night classes at the Wentworth Institute of Technology.
He earned a bachelor's degree in construction management there in 1988 and a J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1991.
Career
After law school, Lynch joined the law office of Gabriel O. Dumont, Jr., representing labor unions and unemployed workers.
In 1994 he won the Democratic primary for the 4th Suffolk seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by 600 votes over incumbent Paul J. Gannon and went on to win the general election.
When William Bulger resigned from the 1st Suffolk seat in the Massachusetts Senate, Lynch won the March 1996 special primary and the April general election, taking office on May 1, 1996, and he earned a master's degree from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1999.
After the death of U.S. Representative Joe Moakley in 2001, Lynch won the special election for the 9th district, taking the September 11 Democratic primary with 39% of the vote and defeating Republican Jo Ann Sprague 65% to 33% on October 16. He was sworn in on October 23, 2001.
His district was redrawn as the 8th district in 2013, the same year he lost the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate special election to Ed Markey.
Lynch sits on the Committee on Financial Services, where he is ranking member of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, and on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
2026 race
The 8th district consists of parts of Boston and eastern Massachusetts, and Lynch was re-elected in 2024 after running unopposed. After his exchange with constituents at a rally in early 2025 drew national attention, he faced a 2026 Democratic primary challenge from attorney Patrick Roath and won the party nomination. His Republican opponent is Robert Burke, who won his party's primary with 20,362 votes, or 99.0%. The general election takes place on November 3, 2026.