The intraparty fight for a key Boston-area Senate seat just got a lot louder. Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday endorsed Daniel Lander, a first-time candidate and former aide to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who is mounting a primary challenge to State Sen. William Brownsberger. The nod drops a national progressive heavyweight into a district contest that pits long-serving Senate leadership against a younger, Wu-aligned progressive.
“I know firsthand that Daniel is a fighter who is ready to make change for the people of Massachusetts,” Warren said in a statement to The Boston Globe. The Globe reported that Warren praised Lander’s focus on housing and infrastructure, giving the challenger an instant talking point as he tries to introduce himself to voters.
Lander’s resume and local footing
Lander has worked inside City Hall as a senior aide to Mayor Michelle Wu and has been pitching himself as a candidate centered on affordability and legislative transparency. The Harvard Crimson reported that Lander has already locked down endorsements from Cambridge councilors, unions and other local progressives as he builds out his ground game.
Brownsberger’s incumbency and the clash with Wu
On the other side is William Brownsberger, a Belmont Democrat and Senate president pro tempore, who has represented the Suffolk and Middlesex district since 2006 and has rarely seen a serious primary challenger. The Boston Globe notes that Brownsberger has clashed with Mayor Wu, including over a proposed property-tax shift, an episode Lander has repeatedly cited to argue that Beacon Hill needs to move more aggressively on housing costs.
Progressive groups pile in
Progressive organizations are also lining up behind Lander. The Massachusetts Working Families Party added him to a slate of challengers earlier this month, and national groups such as Progressive Victory have offered support. Working Families Party and local reporting describe coordinated endorsement activity that has amplified Lander’s early momentum.
The Warren endorsement closes a circle for Lander, who has ties to both Warren’s and Wu’s political networks, and gives him a high-profile boost heading into the fall primary. How much that outside backing actually sways voters across Fenway, Allston-Brighton, Watertown and Belmont will determine whether an institutional Senate leader can withstand a city-hall aligned insurgency.
