Patrick Roath is a candidate in the Democratic Primary for Massachusetts’ 8th Congressional District. After working for former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, he attended Columbia Law School, later practicing as a lawyer and chairing Common Cause Massachusetts. Running against Congressman Stephen Lynch, Roath looks to unseat the 24-year incumbent in the September 1st primary election. The HPR sat down with Roath this February to discuss the race, his approach to policy, and the state of the broader Democratic Party.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Editor’s Note: Since this interview, which took place on February 27th, Congressman Lynch has held a virtual town hall.
Harvard Political Review: To begin, tell me about yourself, your experience, and what got you into politics and made you want to run for office.
Patrick Roath: My mom was born in Brockton and grew up in Braintree, raised by a single mom. She found her way to IBM around a time when they were just starting to hire women, really for the first time in the ‘70s. There, she met my dad, who had just gotten out of the army after getting drafted for the Vietnam War. They both stayed at IBM for 35 years, and that was their sort of middle-class ticket to prosperity. That’s how things worked for our family. They didn’t really come from very much at all, and I got started in politics when I felt like that quintessential, normal, boring American dream story was getting harder and harder to come by in this country. In particular, I was inspired by President Barack Obama and the governor of Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick, who articulated a vision that was responsive to the concerns that I felt about this country’s changes.
There was an optimism about the future and an inclusive vision of how we could all succeed together and how people who didn’t come from much could still succeed in this country. It was that vision and the love of being a part of that that got me involved, and I went to Washington as part of the first class of interns in the Obama administration, and then found my way back to working for Governor Patrick here on his campaigns in the state house. I went on to Boston College to get my law degree and practiced as a lawyer at a private firm here in Boston for the last 10 years, but I also chaired Common Cause Massachusetts and was very involved in voting rights, pushing for automatic voter registration and same-day registration.
That brings me to here, where I quit my job and put all that stuff away to run for Congress because I really feel like this country is at a critical moment. Everything that my parents benefited from and the basic democratic institutions that we’ve all grown up with are being threatened right now by the MAGA extremists in the White House. Addressing that, I think, requires a different kind of politics and a different kind of Democratic Party that’s a little more ready to stand up and fight, and a little more ready to bring some urgency and passion to the table, but still embracing that politics that got me into it, offering an optimistic, affirmative vision of what this country could be.
HPR: Why now? Why the 8th District of Massachusetts? And what does “standing up and fighting” mean to you regarding your vision on the step forward for the Democratic Party?
PR: When the 2024 election happened, I wasn’t just disappointed in the outcome, but also in the failure of my party to offer people a constructive, honest vision of what this country could look like and how we could get there. Nowhere was that clearer than in my congressional district, where our member of Congress has been there for 24 years and hasn’t had an in-person town hall since 2019. He has run for leadership a few times and never succeeded. More importantly, he’s now the last Democrat left in Washington who voted against the Affordable Care Act, and he was the only member of the Massachusetts delegation to vote with the Republicans on the Laken Riley bill, which codified this administration’s approach to stripping due process from immigrants in this country. I felt like he wasn’t serving this district, and there was an opportunity to step up and provide something different.
As for what is different, it all comes back to rebuilding confidence in this country again, because we are losing people who do not believe that this country can still work for them, and that the American dream story that my parents and my family benefited from is still something real and tangible that could actually happen to them and benefit their children. For me and for this race, I think it has everything to do with how expensive it is to live around Boston right now. We need to build millions more units in this country and help people make those first down payments and reward communities that are thinking about density and zoning and housing the right way.
Also on my mind are childcare costs. I’m a new dad, and my wife and I are trying to figure out how to piece this together while a year of infant care in Massachusetts at a center averages $26,000. So I want to see concentrated, bold, creative federal action on housing, childcare costs, healthcare costs, and the cost of education.
The other thing we need is reform to this political system,because it is broken, awash in corporate PAC money, and filled with members of Congress who have been there for decades and refuse to leave — and are structurally insulated in those jobs. I think we need term limits, and I think we need a whole class of candidates like myself challenging people who have had these jobs forever, because that is how a good, healthy democracy works. That is how we are going to improve this country and get a Democratic Party that is ready to stand up for some of this stuff.
HPR: I know you point to Obama as someone who inspired you. Is there anyone today you look to as the blueprint for your campaign and what your strategy would be as a congressman?
PR: I actually feel like there’s a lot of really exciting movement on the Democratic side and in the Capitol right now. Just in Massachusetts, we’ve got a great delegation. Catherine Clark, who’s been in Congress for a fraction of the time of the person I’m running against, has been a really effective voice, climbing through the leadership ranks and also delivering on things like childcare. Congressman Jim McGovern has gotten a lot done and is a really passionate, moral voice in Congress that we need to hear more of. Then there are all sorts of young people I can name, challengers who are running like me. We are really proud that we’ve been endorsed by David Hogg and his group, Leaders We Deserve, which is backing a small number of us in districts that are underperforming and could really use some new people.
HPR: What are your biggest priorities from a policy perspective? If you could only do a few things in the short time that you have in office, what would you address?
PR: I go back to this idea of trying to rebuild some confidence in this country by getting things done for people and trying to help working families. I really think there is a package of affordability-oriented measures around the key cost drivers — housing, childcare, healthcare, education — that I think Democrats should run with when we get the House back to announce our seriousness about working for working families. I even think that there is some room for bipartisanship on some of those issues. It’s expensive to live in red states too, and even if they stop short of our important, laudable goals on climate and universal health care, we’ve got to start with some of these really serious challenges that people are facing. That kind of material, tangible stuff that we can deliver for people who are having a hard time is what the Democratic Party has traditionally been about, and that’s what we’ve got to get back to and succeed on.
HPR: This idea of working for the working-class family is something many have perceived that the Democrats have been pulled away from. How do you think the Democrats can take back that idea of working for that working class? Is it purely through policy, or is there another way that the Democrats can do a better job of making it clear that this is what they stand for?
PR: I don’t know if I’m a competent commentator on that strategic part of it. I know what I think about my district. I know what I think about my politics. Is that the answer to what ails us? Maybe, but I’m not a pundit in that way. I wish policy would speak for itself, but it seems like maybe it doesn’t. It seems like perhaps there’s something about the transmission of policy outcomes to the electorate that takes time, that gets garbled in our media environment, that gets overwhelmed by fascist bulls***, to be honest. Getting that communications piece right is just as important. I don’t think the answer is to fight bulls*** with bulls***. I think the answer is to be clear, credible, authentic storytellers about what we care about and what our values are, and I just try to live that out in my candidacy. I’d love to see more Democrats do the same thing, if they agree with me.
HPR: My last question for you is: If you had one thing you could say to a potential voter in your district, what would it be? What would you want them to remember about you as a candidate and person as we move towards the primary?
PR: Well, I think I’d like them to know that I see this as a particularly scary moment that doesn’t have a lot of precedents in our country, and that I am trying my hardest to meet that moment as a candidate and as a person through this campaign and through bringing this message around. I would just love them to consider it, and, if they’re excited about it, come join us.
