 In 1998 he navigated a crowded Democratic primary to replace Joseph Kennedy II in Congress and has since been re-elected six times. He represented the state's 8th district until it was redrawn in 2013 into the 7th district. In Congress he is a staunch liberal and member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He ran in the 2010 special election to fill the seat in the United States Senate made vacant by the death of Ted Kennedy, his predecessor's uncle, but lost the primary to Martha Coakley, who in turn lost the general election to Republican Scott Brown.
