Jan 26, 2026 - Politics & Policy

David Hogg's PAC backs primary challenger to Rep. Stephen Lynch

Andrew Solender

A man in a blue suit jacket and white patterned tie gestures and speaks into a microphone, seated at a desk with a nameplate reading "Mr. Lynch" in a formal indoor setting. — Rep. Stephen Lynch at a hearing of the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government at the U.S. Capitol on March 30, 2023. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Leaders We Deserve, the PAC founded by Parkland survivor and former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg, is endorsing a primary challenger to longtime Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.).

Why it matters: Lynch has been a perennial primary target for progressives, and they see their best opportunity yet this year to try to take him down.

Lynch is reviled on the left for his past opposition to gay rights and abortion, and for voting against the Affordable Care Act.
But the 70-year-old Massachusetts Democrat, first elected to Congress in 2001, is also getting caught up in a sweep of generational change, with younger Democrats pushing to oust their party's oldest incumbents.

Driving the news: Hogg said in a statement that he is endorsing Patrick Roath, a 38-year-old attorney, describing him as "a candidate who can finally kick Stephen Lynch out of office."

"We deserve leaders like Patrick – not congressmen like Stephen, who refuses to fight for affordable housing, guaranteed child care, and universal health care," Hogg said.
Roath has waged a tough campaign against Lynch, out-raising him by a more than 2-to-1 margin between July and September of last year.
Lynch's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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David Hogg's PAC backs primary challenger to Rep. Stephen Lynch

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