News Clip
Lancaster Releases Five Years Of Tax Returns, Calls For Campaign Finance Transparency
ANDOVER, MA — Democratic congressional candidate Dr. Mariah Lancaster has released five years of personal federal tax returns, becoming the second candidate in the Massachusetts 6th Congressional District race to do so in less than a week while escalating the campaign’s debate over financial transparency.
The move comes days after state Rep. Tram Nguyen released her tax returns covering 2021 through 2025 and challenged the rest of the Democratic field to meet what she described as a minimum standard of transparency. At the time, Nguyen urged her opponents to release five years of returns, arguing voters deserve a clear picture of candidates’ personal finances before casting their ballots.
Lancaster, who uses they/them pronouns, said Wednesday that while tax returns are important, candidates should also disclose who is financing their campaigns and any outside political spending supporting their candidacies.
“I’ve spent the past five years working two jobs to make ends meet,” Lancaster said in a statement. “I worked nights and weekends as a veterinarian throughout my time in government to afford rent, groceries, and to make my student loan payments. I believe we need to go a step further to talk about who’s funding each candidate.”
Lancaster said they remain the only candidate in the race who has not self-funded a campaign, transferred state campaign funds to a super PAC, or accepted corporate PAC contributions.
The campaign said the released tax returns cover tax years 2021 through 2025 and portray what it described as “a straightforward financial history of a healthcare professional serving their community.” According to the campaign, the returns show no income from corporate board memberships, private equity firms or special-interest dividends.
Lancaster also challenged fellow candidates to disclose the financial backing behind their campaigns, including self-funding, super PAC activity and major donors.
“Releasing tax returns is the easy part,” Lancaster said. “I’m calling on everyone in this race to be just as open about who’s funding their campaigns. The self-funders, the Super PACs, and the insiders writing big checks.”
The exchange marks the latest clash over campaign finance in the increasingly competitive Democratic primary to succeed U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton.
Campaign financing has emerged as one of the defining issues in the race in recent weeks. Former state Rep. Jamie Belsito on Tuesday accused rivals Dan Koh and Nguyen of using “redboxing” — a practice in which campaigns publicly post messaging that can be used by outside groups to shape independent expenditures — while Koh and John Beccia continue to hold sizable fundraising advantages over the rest of the field. According to the latest Federal Election Commission filings through June 30, Koh reported roughly $3 million cash on hand, while Beccia reported about $2.3 million, much of it from personal loans to his campaign. Nguyen reported several hundred thousand dollars available, while Belsito, Lancaster and Bethany Andres-Beck each reported substantially smaller campaign treasuries.
Lancaster is a veterinarian, former U.S. State Department foreign affairs officer and former congressional staff member. Their campaign says it is funded exclusively by individual donors and does not accept corporate PAC contributions, super PAC support or candidate self-funding.
The Democratic primary for the 6th Congressional District is Sept. 1.