Kelly Garrity, “Yu who? Meet the progressive who pulled off a Boston-area upset,” Boston Globe, September 4, 2026.

“People outside the district didn’t know what was happening,” said Rob Orthman, a Yu backer and co-director of Progressive West Roxbury/Roslindale. “And we were perfectly fine keeping it that way. We did not want to raise attention to this to suddenly start seeing, you know, all the money and support for the incumbent start to flow in.”

Yu, a Boston Public Schools parent and mother of two, had been active on Boston’s Ward 18 Democratic Committee, but first popped up on Orthman’s radar last spring, he said, as she met with progressive groups around the district to test the waters on a potential state Senate bid.

A consumer protection attorney, “she always likes to say[that] she’s sued the last few presidential administrations on behalf of student loan borrowers, both Democratic and Republican,” Orthman said.

Freddy Brewster, “The Corporate Dem Asking Super PACs To Call Him A Progressive,” The Lever, August 28, 2026.

“These campaign donations and Moulton’s voting record make him unfit to call himself a progressive, said Jonathan Cohn, policy director with the statewide grassroots organization Progressive Mass.

“Seth has done a fascinating job of trying to rebrand himself as progressive this cycle,” Cohn told The Lever. “[Moulton] doesn’t ever really actually hit on the big problem over the past few decades of the Democratic Party’s movement away from thinking about how the government can positively intervene to improve people’s everyday lives.”

Cohn said that progressive candidates need to support core issues at the center of the progressive movement, like taxing the rich and providing universal public services, such as Medicare for All.”

Erik Ueblelacker, “Massachusetts primary offers late-game litmus test for Democrats,” Courthouse News Service, August 18, 2026.

Koh’s endorsements — Biden, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg — reflect his vast connections. He’s also dominated when it comes to fundraising in his second foray into congressional politics. He lost the 2018 primary in the 3rd District by a mere 122 votes to eventual general winner Lori Trahan.

“Both of his parents are affluent and well connected,” said Jonathan Cohn, policy director at advocacy group Progressive Massachusetts. “And he used to be the chief of staff for former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, so he has all of Marty’s connections as well.”

Progressive Massachusetts backed one of Koh’s opponents for the 6th District: Tram Nguyen, a state representative who has worked as a lawyer representing immigrants and domestic violence victims.

……

But Cohn, whose Progressive Massachusetts endorsed Roath, is hopeful that momentum from other recent elections — and connections Roath built while as an aide to former Governor Deval Patrick — could propel him to victory. He’s particularly optimistic after races in cities like Quincy, not particularly known to be a progressive haven, yielded positive results for his allies.

“Quincy had a big upset year in local elections last year, where a number of progressive challengers won,” Cohn said. “With that level of local dissatisfaction with a conservative status quo, it’ll be interesting to see if that carries over to the congressional.”

Anjali Huynh, “In Sixth District primary, it’s ‘outsiders,’ an insider — and one Democrat trying to convince voters she’s both,” Boston Globe, August 9, 2026.

To Jonathan Cohn, policy director for Progressive Mass, which is backing Nguyen, candidates are trying anything to distinguish themselves in a race that “has the feeling”of the 2018 primary for the Third Congressional District, located just to the west along the northern Massachusetts border. In that race, a crowded field of Democrats pitched themselves as an antidote to President Trump. (Koh was a candidate in that primary, too, which was won by the current incumbent, Lori Trahan.)

LEFT FIELD: Progressive Massachusetts is rolling out endorsements for several candidates on Friday. The group is backing state Representative Tram Nguyen in the state’s Sixth Congressional District Democratic primary and state Senate hopefuls Gayle and Persis Yu, who is challenging state Senator Mike Rush.

The Scrum, June 12, 20256

Sam Mintz and Vivi Smilgius, “Younger candidates push out some of Brookline’s political old guard in progressive sweep,” Brookline.News, May 6, 2026.

“This was an election about getting people to the polls,” said Miriam Aschkenasy, a former Select Board member who is one of the leaders of the recently launched group Progressive Brookline. “We have an idea about what we think Brookline should be as a community, and we have to get people involved.” 

…

Zimmerman, the 43-year-old co-founder of B4E, received the most votes by a large margin. She was endorsed by both B4E and Progressive Brookline.

“Between those two groups, you had a lot of very passionate people organizing around the election, door knocking, reaching out to their networks,” she said. 

…In Precinct 9, all five of the winners were endorsed by Brookline for Everyone and Progressive Brookline. 

Across Town Meeting races, those groups did exceedingly well: 95% of Town Meeting candidates endorsed by both Brookline for Everyone and Progressive Brookline were successful, compared with 76% endorsed by Brookline by Design, B4E’s frequent antagonist, which advocates for a more deliberate planning process. Eighty-five percent of Brookline PAX endorsees won. 

…

“I think that for a long time, a select few people really were the people involved in town politics. I think that’s changing,” said Aschkenasy of Progressive Brookline. “I think we are mobilizing a new group of people who want to do something and say something.” 

…

Federspiel, the incumbent, said this election felt like a shift toward more progressive values, which the past couple of elections have strayed away from. She added that new political groups in town, such as Progressive Brookline, played a big role — and raised some questions about existing groups and their values.

“The [Progressive Brookline] board has new faces, new voices … something like Brookline PAX has been around for a while. There’s not so many new faces, new voices,” Federspiel said. “They had supported me in the past and they did not endorse me this time. I don’t believe I’m less progressive, so I’m kind of thinking they’re less progressive.”

Yawu Miller, “Rollins to challenge Hayden for Suffolk DA,” Dorchester Reporter, April 16, 2026.

“Back in 2018, Rollins was able to put together an impressive coalition,” said Jonathan Cohn, political director for Progressive Massachusetts. “The question is, can she do that now.”