Seth Wilbur Moulton (born October 24, 1978) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for

Massachusetts's 6th congressional district Massachusetts's 6th congressional district is located in northeastern Massachusetts. It contains most of Essex County, including the North Shore and Cape Ann, as well as part of Middlesex County. It is represented by Seth Moulton, who has rep ...

since 2015. A former Marine Corps

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

, he is a member of the Democratic Party. After graduating from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

in 2001 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

, Moulton joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

. He served four tours in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and then went on to earn his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

s in

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

and

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public ...

in a dual program at Harvard. He entered politics in 2014 when he ran for Massachusetts's 6th congressional district, a seat that he won and has held ever since. In early 2019, Moulton was seen as a potential presidential candidate for the Democratic nomination in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

. Publicly expressing his interest in the prospect, he traveled to early primary states. After announcing his candidacy on April 22, 2019, Moulton failed to gain traction and withdrew from the race on August 23.

Early life, education, and commission

Moulton was born on October 24, 1978, in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the ...

, to Lynn Alice (née Meader), a secretary, and Wilbur Thomas Moulton, Jr., a real estate attorney. Moulton has two younger siblings, Eliza and Cyrus, and grew up in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends into the northern part of Massachusetts Bay. Attache ...

. He graduated from

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover, Massachusetts, Andover , stat ...

in 1997, and attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physics in 2001. He gave the Undergraduate English Oration at his commencement, focusing on the importance of service. Moulton joined the Marine Corps after graduation, a few months before the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. He attended the

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

Quantico, Virginia Quantico ( or ; formerly Potomac) is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, DC, bordered by the Potomac River to the east ...

. After graduating in 2002 with the rank of

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

, Moulton was among the first service members to enter

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

at the beginning of the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

Military career

During the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including ...

, Moulton led one of the first infantry platoons to enter

. He served a total of four tours of duty in

from 2003 to 2008. Moulton took part in the 2003

Battle of Nasiriyah The Battle of Nasiriyah was fought between the US 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, aided by the British military, and Iraqi forces from 23 March to 2 April 2003 during the US-led invasion of Iraq. On the night of 24–25 March, the bulk of t ...

, leading a platoon that cleared a hostile stronghold. In that action, he went to the aid of a Marine wounded by friendly fire, and for his actions he was awarded the

Navy and Marine Corps Medal The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is the highest non-combat decoration awarded for heroism by the United States Department of the Navy to members of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The medal was established by an act of Co ...

for valor. Moulton was active in combat against insurgent forces in Iraq, including the 2004 Battle of Najaf against the militia of

Muqtada al-Sadr Muqtada al-Sadr ( ar, مقتدى الصدر, Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr; born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi politician and militia leader. He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies, a successor to the militia he had p ...

. Over two days, he "fearlessly exposed himself to enemy fire" as his platoon was pinned down under heavy fire and then directed the supporting fire that repelled the attack. He received the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. W ...

for his actions in this battle. In 2008, General

David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born November 7, 1952) is a retired United States Army general and public official. He served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012. Prior to ...

requested that Moulton be assigned to work as a special liaison with tribal leaders in Southern Iraq during his fourth tour of duty in Iraq. Following that tour, Moulton was discharged from the Marine Corps with the rank of captain.

Media contributions

In 2003, Moulton co-hosted a television program with his Iraqi interpreter, Mohammed Harba, called ''Moulton and Mohammed'', during which they discussed regional conditions in the period following the U.S. invasion before an audience of U.S. servicemen and Iraqi citizens. The show ended after three months when Moulton's unit left the area. Between 2003 and 2008, Moulton was frequently interviewed about his experiences as an officer in Iraq by U.S. national media, including CNN, MSNBC, and NPR programs ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...

'' and ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

''. Moulton was also prominently featured in the 2007 Academy Award-nominated documentary '' No End in Sight''. In the film, Moulton criticized the U.S. government's handling of the occupation of Iraq. Director

Charles H. Ferguson Charles Henry Ferguson (born March 24, 1955) is the founder and president of Representational Pictures, Inc., and director and producer of ''No End in Sight'' (2007) and '' Inside Job'' (2010), which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Featur ...

chose to include Moulton, along with two other Iraq veterans.

Private sector career

After he left the Marines Corps in 2008, Moulton attended a dual-degree program at the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...

and the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, publi ...

, earning master's degrees in business and public policy in 2011. After graduate school, Moulton worked for one year as managing director of the

Texas Central Railway Texas Central or Texas Central Partners, LLC, is a private railroad company that is proposing a high-speed rail line between Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston. It plans to use technology based on that used by the Central Japan Railway Company and ...

, a transportation firm. In 2011, Moulton and a graduate school classmate founded Eastern Healthcare Partners, which Moulton has invoked to show he was a "successful entrepreneur" who understands "what it's like to face that day when you might not meet payroll." The company raised investor funds and drafted a partnership agreement with

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...

, but in October 2014 the ''Boston Globe'' reported that by the time Moulton ran for Congress, EHP had no revenue, was still incubating, and had closed its only Massachusetts office.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2012 speculation

Moulton had considered running against Democratic Representative

John F. Tierney John F. Tierney (born September 18, 1951) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1997 to 2015. He is a Democrat who represented the state's , which includes the state's North Shore and Cape Ann ...

as an Independent in the 2012 elections, but he decided against it in July 2012, saying that "the time and the logistics of putting together all the campaign infrastructure, organizing the volunteers ... the fundraising—it's just too much to accomplish in three months." He told ''Roll Call'' that his own polling "showed there was in fact a clear path to victory" and said he might run for office in the future.

2014 election

On July 8, 2013, Moulton announced his candidacy in the 2014 congressional race for Massachusetts' 6th district. The race had been recognized for its competitiveness by national and regional media throughout the election cycle. Moulton challenged Tierney in the Democratic

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...

. Tierney's campaign claimed in campaign advertisements that Moulton received campaign contributions from a

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

political action committee that previously donated only to Republicans, implying that Moulton must hold conservative views. Moulton denied being more conservative than his opponent, and stated that the Republican PAC donation was returned. Public

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

filings confirmed that the donation was returned in February 2014. Moulton said that he opposed the Iraq War in which he served. A Tierney campaign staff member said that Moulton had "changed his mind" and highlighted Tierney's vote in Congress to oppose the 2002 resolution authorizing the U.S. Invasion of Iraq. Moulton also received the first-ever political endorsement from Ret. Gen. Stanley McChrystal during the campaign. Moulton defeated Tierney in the primary with 50.8% of the vote to Tierney's 40.1%. Moulton was endorsed by Senator

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as ...

for the general election. In October 2014, he withdrew from a debate sponsored by radio station

WGBH WGBH may refer to: * WGBH Educational Foundation, based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States ** WGBH (FM), a public radio station at Boston, Massachusetts on 89.7 MHz owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation ** WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), ...

because of a series of New York fundraisers, where he welcomed Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The campaigns of Moulton and his Republican opponent,

Richard Tisei Richard R. Tisei (; born August 13, 1962) is an American politician and realtor from Massachusetts. A Republican, he served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court for a combined 26 years, eventually becoming Minority Leader in the ...

, were held up as an example of how candidates can compete with respect for each other. Moulton defeated Tisei in the general election with 55.0% to Tisei's 41.1%.

2016 election

Moulton was uncontested for reelection in 2016.

2018 election

Moulton ran against Republican candidate Joseph Schneider in 2018. He won with 65.2% of the vote.

2020 election

Moulton faced his first primary challenge since winning his own challenge in 2014. He defeated the Democratic challengers Angus McQuilken and Jamie Belsito, with 78% of the vote, and went on to defeat Republican John Paul Moran, with 65.4% of the vote.

Tenure

Moulton was sworn into the

114th United States Congress The 114th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from ...

on January 3, 2015. Following the 2018 elections, Democrats returned to being the majority party in the House of Representatives. Moulton and some others who felt current leadership was "too old," gathered signatures to replace

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

(D-CA) as the Democrats' leader. Rep.

Karen Bass Karen Ruth Bass (; born October 3, 1953) is an American politician, social worker and former physician assistant who is serving as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Bass had previously served in the U.S ...

(D-CA) was their first choice as the person to take the leadership role from Pelosi. Bass rejected the offer, as did others, choosing instead to support Pelosi for House Speaker. On November 28, 2018, Pelosi won the speakership on a 203-to-32 vote, with Moulton voting for her. On August 24, 2021, Moulton and Representative Peter Meijer flew unannounced into

Hamid Karzai International Airport , nativename-r = , image = Flightline at Kabul International Airport.jpeg , caption = The flightline at Kabul International Airport in January 2012 , IATA = KBL , ICAO = OAKB , ...

amid the evacuation of Americans and allies after the fall of Kabul. The two explained that their visit was kept secret to minimize disruption, and that its goal was "to provide guidance" to the Biden administration. Several government officials said, however, that the surprise visit produced unhelpful distraction from the ongoing work of evacuating people. The next day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to all House members, saying that "the Departments of Defense and State have requested that Members not travel to Afghanistan and the region during this time of danger" because such travel "would unnecessarily divert needed resources" from the evacuation efforts. Moulton defended his Kabul trip against criticisms saying, "At the end of the day, I don’t care what pundits in Washington are saying...They’ve been wrong about this war for 20 years."

Committee assignments

* Committee on the Budget * Committee on Armed Services ** Subcommittee on Strategic Forces ** Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces * Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure ** Subcommittee on Highways and Transit ** Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials

Caucus memberships

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters. As of ...

Blue Collar Caucus The Blue Collar Caucus is a Democratic Party (United States), United States Democratic Party congressional caucus that advocates for labor and working class priorities. It was founded in 2016 to focus the Democratic Party on blue-collar issues. ...

2020 presidential campaign

Early in 2019, Moulton started recruiting staff for a potential campaign for the Democratic nomination in

. He traveled to early primary states such as

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

and

in March 2019. Moulton officially announced his candidacy on April 22, 2019. On August 23, 2019, he suspended his campaign and withdrew from the race. During his campaign, Moulton never polled above 2% in any of the 2020 Democratic presidential opinion polls, and he was not invited to the first two Democratic presidential debates, having failed to meet the criteria for invitation. Following his withdrawal, Moulton's candidacy generated interest after President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

sarcastically tweeted, in response to stock market fluctuations, "The Dow is down 573 points on the news that Representative Seth Moulton, whoever that may be, has dropped out of the 2020 Presidential Race!"

Political positions

According to ''Politico'', Moulton has described himself variously "a progressive Democrat," "a pragmatic Democrat" and "a frustrated Democrat." Moulton is a member of the

, a

congressional caucus A congressional caucus is a group of members of the United States Congress that meet to pursue common legislative objectives. Formally, caucuses are formed as congressional member organizations (CMOs) through the United States House of Represent ...

made up of Democrats described by themselves as "moderate", "pro-growth", and "fiscally responsible", and by others as "centrist." Moulton was ranked the 34th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the

in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy that ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party).

Economics

During an appearance on ABC's ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...

'' in April 2019, just after announcing his run for president, Moulton said, "I'm not a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

. I'm a Democrat. And I want to make that clear." According to ''The Boston Globe'', "one of Moulton’s biggest focuses is addressing the long-term impact of automation on the economy, which he says will disproportionately affect working-class communities." Moulton, who in 2015 co-sponsored legislation increasing the minimum wage to $12 an hour, said in February 2019 that he supported an increase in the federal

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...

to $15 an hour. In 2019, Moulton criticized Trump's withdrawal from the

Trans-Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Pe ...

and said that if elected president he would re-engage in negotiations toward "a strong, fair trade deal for the Pacific on our terms, not China's." Moulton also criticized Trump's use of tariffs, telling ''The Hill'' that although tariffs remain an option for trade policy the emphasis should be "a comprehensive strategy" and building "our alliances in the Pacific."

Foreign policy

Moulton opposed sending U.S. troops back to Iraq in 2014. He also supported strengthening

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

against Russia, as well as keeping troops in Afghanistan temporarily in order to execute a counterterrorist mission in 2019. Moulton criticized President Joe Biden for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, citing the chaotic evacuation of Afghans who had supported the United States in the effort to fight terrorism. He later co-sponsored the WELCOMED Act with U.S. Representative Don Bacon, providing benefits and eligibility for resettlement to Afghan recipients of Special Immigrant Visas, which was signed into law by President Biden on October 1, 2021.

Social issues

Moulton supports same-sex marriage and abortion rights. He supports legal immigration and advocates for immigration reform, but opposes illegal immigration and has called it "something we have to confront."

Mental Health

Moulton wrote the legislation to create the National 988 Suicide and Mental Health Crisis Hotline. He also introduced the Brandon Act, legislation passed into law that improved mental health access for active duty armed service members.

Marijuana

Moulton has admitted to using

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various t ...

and supports the legalization of the drug, saying, "If you're not buying your marijuana from a dealer who sells heroin, who sells opioids, it's much less likely to be a gateway drug. The problem is now that it operates in the shadows. There's no control whatsoever. Someone goes and buys an edible, for example, there's no regulation about what's in that. It's like moonshine under Prohibition."

Cybersecurity

In September 2018, Moulton co-sponsored, together with Elise Stefanik and Dan Donovan, the "Cyber Ready Workforce Act" advanced by

Jacky Rosen Jacklyn Sheryl Rosen (née Spektor; born August 2, 1957) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Nevada since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the U.S. representative for Nevada's 3rd congress ...

. The legislation would create a grant program within the Department of Labor to "create, implement and expand registered apprenticeships" in

cybersecurity Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, t ...

. It aims to offer certifications and connect participants with businesses in order to "boost the number" of workers for federal jobs in said trade.

Energy policy

Moulton supports the expansion of nuclear energy. In a 2019 interview on the podcast, '' Titans of Nuclear'', Moulton called nuclear energy "a safe, good investment...for the future of our country." He has also expressed support for the expansion of research and development for

fusion power Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices de ...

Views on President Trump

In a March 2016 interview with ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', Moulton compared the rise of the Republican presidential front-runner,

, with

Adolf Hitler's rise to power Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

in the 1930s. Moulton said that, in order to understand how an educated society "can elect a demagogue," voters should read about how the German people elected Hitler in the early 20th century. Moulton walked out of President Trump's State of the Union address in 2020 citing the portion of the president's address about the administration's contributions to the military and service members. Moulton states that: "Trump—a draft dodger who has mocked Sen.

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

, Gold Star families, and soldiers with

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic br ...

—started talking about the good he has done for our military."

Gun policy

On June 15, 2016, Moulton appeared on the cover of the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...

'' with the statement "No Civilian Should Own This Gun" in reference to semi-automatic

assault weapons In the United States, ''assault weapon'' is a controversial term used to define firearms with specified characteristics. The definition varies among regulating jurisdictions, but usually includes semi-automatic firearms with a detachable magaz ...

. The cover pictures Moulton during a deployment to

, carrying an issued

M4 carbine The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensive ...

. Moulton penned an opinion piece promoting gun control, including the statement: "There's simply no reason for a civilian to own a military-style assault weapon. It's no different than why we outlaw civilian ownership of rockets and landmines."

Personal life

On June 23, 2017, Moulton announced on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

his engagement to his girlfriend Liz Boardman, a senior client partner at an executive search firm. They were married at the Old North Church,

, on September 22, 2017. The couple's first child was born in October 2018. In 2019, Moulton announced, during an interview with ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'', that he was suffering from

Posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threat ...

(PTSD), following his service in the Marine Corps. On August 29, 2020, Moulton announced that the family was expecting a second child, who was born in February 2021.

Electoral history

, - , colspan=10 , , - !Year !Candidate !Result !Opponent !Result , - , style="text-align: left;" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, style="background:#ccf;", Seth Moulton , style="background:#ccf;", 50.8% , style="background:#ccf;",

, style="background:#ccf;", 40.1% , - , style="text-align: left;" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, style="background:#ccf;", Seth Moulton , style="background:#ccf;", 99.1% , style="background:#ccf;", None , style="background:#ccf;", N/A , - , style="text-align: left;" ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, style="background:#ccf;", Seth Moulton , style="background:#ccf;", 100% , style="background:#ccf;", None , style="background:#ccf;", N/A , - , style="text-align: left;" ,

, style="background:#ccf;", Seth Moulton , style="background:#ccf;", 77.9% , style="background:#ccf;", Jamie Belsito, Angus McQuilken , style="background:#ccf;", Belsito-12.5%, McQuilken-9.6% , - , style="text-align: left;" , 2022 , style="background:#ccf;", Seth Moulton , style="background:#ccf;", 100% , style="background:#ccf;", None , style="background:#ccf;", N/A , - , - , colspan=10 , , - ! Year ! Democrat ! Result ! Opponent ! Result , - , style="text-align: left;" ,

, style="background:#ccf;", Seth Moulton , style="background:#ccf;", 55.0% , style="background:#fcc;",

, style="background:#fcc;", 41.1% , - , - , style="text-align: left;" ,

, style="background:#ccf;", Seth Moulton , style="background:#ccf;", 98.4% , style="background:#fcc;", None , style="background:#fcc;", N/A , - , - , style="text-align: left;" ,

, style="background:#ccf;", Seth Moulton , style="background:#ccf;", 65.2% , style="background:#fcc;", Joseph Schneider , style="background:#fcc;", 31.4% , - , - , style="text-align: left;" ,

, style="background:#ccf;", Seth Moulton , style="background:#ccf;", 65.4% , style="background:#fcc;", John Paul Moran , style="background:#fcc;", 34.4% , - , - , style="text-align: left;" , 2022 , style="background:#ccf;", Seth Moulton , style="background:#ccf;", 62.9% , style="background:#fcc;", Bob May , style="background:#fcc;", 35.2% , style="background:#DCB732;", Mark Tashjian , style="background:##DCB732;", 1.9% , -

Notes

References

External links

Congressman Seth Moulton
official U.S. House website
Seth Moulton for Congress
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moulton, Seth 1978 births 21st-century American politicians United States Marine Corps personnel of the Iraq War Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Harvard Business School alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people Military personnel from Massachusetts Politicians from Salem, Massachusetts United States Marine Corps officers Candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election