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Photo (left) of Congressman Stephen Lynch via U.S. Congress and photo (right) of Patrick Roath via Patrick Roath Campaign.
5-14-2026 12:47am
Patrick Roath Enters Race Against Stephen Lynch for U.S. House Seat (Updated)
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Jamaica Plain resident Patrick Roath on May 11 announced that he has officially qualified for the September 1st Democratic primary ballot, where he will go head to head against incumbent Stephen Lynch to represent Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District, and that his campaign has raised $1 million.
"I am proud to announce that we've raised a million dollars without a single corporate PAC check, submitted more than 2,000 certified signatures from voters across the district, and built a campaign that's ready to win," he said. According to Mr. Roath's campaign, it has reached the $1 million fundraising milestone one-year after first launching.
Mr. Roath called on Congressman Lynch to debate him in Boston, Quincy, and Brockton.
Congressman Lynch has held the office since 2001.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) records for the earlier time period of May 2025 to March 31, 2026, show that Mr. Roath raised total receipts of $888,691. Of that sum, $858,904 came from individual contributions, $6,000 from committee contributions, $3,728 from candidate contributions, $20,000 from loans, and $60 from offsets to operating expenses.
FEC records show that between January 2025 and March 31, 2026, Congressman Lynch raised total receipts of $542,308. Of that sum, $284,246 came from individual contributions, $245,800 from committee contributions, $12,166 from other receipts, and $95 from offsets to operating expenditures.
Massachusetts' 8th Congressional District includes Norfolk County towns of Westwood, Walpole, Norwood, Dedham, Canton, Stoughton, Avon, Braintree, and Quincy, along with a number of Plymouth County towns and parts of Boston.
The Democratic primary for Massachusetts' 8th will take place on September 1, 2026.
Updated 5/14/2026 at 7:46 p.m. A error in the year that Congressman Lynch began serving in his present position has been corrected.
