Congressional Race Pits Civil Rights Lawyer Against 29-Year Incumbent
Congressman Richard Neal, at left, and attorney Tahirah Amatul-Wadud. Photos by Dave Roback and Joyce Skowyra for The Republican, Masslive.com, Courtesy of NEPR
In the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts, a 15-term incumbent who hasn’t faced a serious challenger in years is up against a black, female Muslim lawyer with only a fraction of his campaign money.
In her first run for office, Tahirah Amatul-Wadud — a 44-year-old family and civil rights attorney — appears undeterred by her steep political learning curve.
One recent evening, she walked around her campaign headquarters in Chicopee — a narrow, wood-trimmed office building where she also has her law practice. She greeted several volunteers who came in to call area voters for her campaign.
Amatul-Wadud said she’s been to more than 300 campaign events since she announced her candidacy last December against Richard Neal, who’s been in Congress 29 years.
Even Neal suggested she’s got a chance. On a recent visit to his own campaign office, he pointed to four tables of volunteers.
“You can see by the number of people in the campaign headquarters here this morning — it’s pretty substantial,” he said. “So I’m taking it seriously.”
In the last couple months, this primary campaign has gotten national attention as a race to watch. That’s after another woman of color – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – beat a longtime incumbent in New York City.