NEWS CLIP
Meet the Candidates: Mariah Lancaster, 6th Congressional District
Mariah Lancaster told the Swampscott Tides that Congress needs members who understand not only the scientific impacts of climate change on residents but also how those impacts affect nearly every aspect of their lives.
“There are homes all along the coastline of the United States that are at risk due to existing sea level rise, but when I talk with communities here on the North Shore, that’s not where we are right now. Where we are is more storm surge focus,” Lancaster said. “Part of the issue is when it’s the city or the town trying to take action, it’s really piecemeal, all along the coastline trying to build a wall for storm surge or trying to take action on the municipally owned land…That’s where being able to be a good federal partner, be a good state partner, is where you can help it get funding that’s not just something the city has to be at the front of but something you can really work with homeowners, work with the city, work with the town and make sure you’re taking action, together, as a collective.”
Lancaster is running to represent the 6th District in Congress, as the seat is up for grabs after Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) announced he would challenge Sen. Edward Markey in the Democratic primary ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. There are six Democrats – Bethany Andres-Beck, John Beccia, Jamie Belsito, Dan Koh, Mariah Lancaster and Tram Nguyen – along with Republican Micah Jones.
“Running for office, it has seemed not necessarily as some goal or certainly not something necessarily pre-planned, but I think we’re at a moment where we need experts to step up,” Lancaster said. “We are watching this administration destroy scientific integrity in our nation, and it’s really important that folks that have expertise and capacity take on the mantle and step out of their comfort zone to become the leaders that we need in order to have the country that I think we all hope and dream to live in again.”
Lancaster, who identifies as non-binary, is a veterinarian, who previously worked as a congressional aide. Lancaster also served as a foreign affairs officer at the State Department, working against environmental crime and corruption, particularly the illegal trade of wildlife. When Republicans took over Congress, Lancaster moved into non-profit government affairs work, noting issues like vaccine and food safety following the COVID-19 pandemic and other oversights rolled back under the President Donald Trump administration.
“I went into veterinary school knowing that my goal was to work in the policy realm,” Lancaster said. “I really expected I was going to be a bit of a scientific nerd advising folks, potentially elected officials and municipal leaders. That is how I spent most of my career.”
Lancaster said they have long embraced the “One Health” approach, which recognizes the intersection of human, animal and environmental health. Lancaster said this way of thinking ensures that they are not “just focused on one problem or one disease but really look at things holistically.”
“I bring that lens to a whole bunch of things, whether we’re talking about health care or whether we’re talking about environmental policies. All of these different pieces, they are connected” Lancaster said. “It is the job of legislatures to write individual bills but also when you look at the way the U.S. House functions – or doesn’t properly function – the days of bills passing is not a thing of the past because that’s how I think democracy should work but right now the way things typically work is that bills get folded into these larger packages…Part of having that systemic approach and systems thinking is understanding where your priorities can fit in where things are almost guaranteed to pass.”
Right out of school, Lancaster joined the Massachusetts Veterinary Association as part of the Government Relations and Advocacy Committee. They went to the State House as a scientific expert and also joined the Association of Avian Veterinarians, drafting federal testimony when the USDA updated the Animal Welfare Act regulations.
“I’ve done a lot of scientific advising throughout my career, both on a volunteer basis and obviously in the past few years more formally,” Lancaster said. “It’s certainly my area of expertise, it would be a shame if it wasn’t (a potential focus of my time in Congress), especially when we’re talking about the priorities of this district. There’s so much for the Massachusetts 6th that having scientific expertise is incredibly valuable for. The Greater Boston area is a true biomedical hub for not just the nation but the world but also we have incredible opportunities to invest in clean energy initiatives here in the North Shore.”
Lancaster said the Trump administration eliminated $35 million in funding for a clean-energy project in Salem but noted that Gov. Maura Healey included nearly twice that amount in the state budget to keep the project moving forward.
“It’s a matter of trying to sustain the technologies of the future, not just of the moment but truly of the future, to make sure that we are building a cleaner world and a more sustainable world. That’s something we cannot let die just because this administration is hostile to it and is trying to shut down all things clean energy for the sake of their oil lobbyist friends,” Lancaster said.
Lancaster also noted the “huge economic market” the 6th District is for fisheries and lobster.
“All of these communities that have been really reliant on the oceans for their economies since really the founding of these towns are in need of somebody who truly understands the fisheries industry,” Lancaster said. “A lot of what I worked on in Congress was fisheries policy, not just through the lens of supporting our local producers but also through cracking down on foreign bad actors that are kind of undermining our domestic economy.”
Lancaster said federal support is a “huge need for all our coastal communities.” Lancaster said climate resilience is the district’s top climate-related priority. This affects both the industry and the homeowners along the coast, they said.
“So much of what we think about as a federal response is reactive and not necessarily proactive, and I think that is how we shift into a more responsible stance when we’re talking about climate change and climate change mitigation – is investing at the state level, at the federal level and at the local level and partnering all the way through to make sure that we are not asking homeowners or fishermen or lobstermen to take on the burden of the impacts of climate change on their own,” Lancaster said. “We need to be working as the whole of government to make sure we are helping our working families and our local residents to survive where we are within the climate crisis.”
Lancaster, who said they are a “holistic person when it comes to policy,” did note that the government does still need to be “realistic about where we are,” meaning that there is still opportunity to slow down climate impacts but that “we are unfortunately decades past where we ideally would have taken strong action.”
They also raised the issue of not only an international climate refugee movement but also domestic climate refugees that lead to the need for additional and better housing resources.
“We have folks who are leaving the South and moving North because their homes are becoming untenable given climate change,” Lancaster said. “We need to be prepared for the fact that there are going to be people moving into Massachusetts in the coming decades.”
Though Lancaster said there is still hope within the federal government.
“I think the moment we lose hope, it’s all lost,” Lancaster said. “It’s important to figure out what another representative’s district needs so that you can work with them. You may disagree with a member on 99% of things, but if you can find that 1% that both of your districts need, you can work with that member on that one thing. That is where we can make progress even among a divide…We need folks to remember it is when we engage that we make progress. It is when we gather in solidarity that we actually can have the positive change that we need to restore the integrity of this nation, to reclaim our democracy and quite frankly shape the Democratic Party.”
From October 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, Lancaster’s team has received $309,951.38 in contributions, according to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Lancaster has been endorsed by the Massachusetts Teachers Association. Lancaster has also been endorsed by 350 Mass Action.
Lancaster has spoken at four Democratic candidate debates at this point, including one in Swampscott, where they answered a Swampscott Tides question about the local implementation of federal regulations, highlighting their public health experience.
“As the public health professional in this race, public health especially is near and dear to me, but it is just one piece of the many pieces of infrastructure whether we’re talking local, state, that needs deeper investments,” Lancaster said. “There’s a couple different approaches to this that all need to work together. One, obviously, is the actual funding for programs…(freshman representatives) need to network with other members of the House and you need to all start advocating for each other’s projects as well. Collaboration and community building amongst the representatives is a really big way to actually bring the priorities that we need for the district home.”
Outside of politics, Lancaster loves to garden and is a singer by both hobby and training, having spent a year studying at Berklee College of Music as an undergraduate. They are also getting married within the district just a few days after the primary election.
Lancaster’s name will be on the Democratic primary ballot on September 1.