Seth Moulton
Seth Wilbur Moulton (born October 24, 1978) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 6th congressional district since 2015.[2] A former Marine Corps officer, he is a member of the Democratic Party.
Seth Moulton
2
Harvard University (BS, MBA, MPP)
2001–2008
Bronze Star (2) with valor
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with valor
After graduating from Harvard University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in physics, Moulton joined the United States Marine Corps. He served four tours in Iraq and then earned his master's degrees in business and public policy in a dual program at Harvard. He entered politics in 2014, when he was elected to represent Massachusetts's 6th congressional district.
In early 2019, Moulton was seen as a potential presidential candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2020.[3][4] Publicly expressing his interest in the prospect, he traveled to early primary states.[5] After announcing his candidacy on April 22, 2019, Moulton withdrew from the race on August 23.[6][7]
Early life, education, and commission[edit]
Moulton was born on October 24, 1978, in Salem, Massachusetts, to Lynn Alice (née Meader), a secretary, and Wilbur Thomas Moulton, Jr., a real estate attorney.[8][9][10] He has two younger siblings, Eliza and Cyrus, and grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts.[8] He graduated from Phillips Academy in 1997,[11] and attended Harvard College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physics in 2001. He gave the Undergraduate English Oration at his commencement, focusing on the importance of service.[12]
Moulton joined the Marine Corps after graduation, a few months before the September 11 attacks.[13] He attended the Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia, and graduated in 2002 with the rank of second lieutenant.[8][12]
Private sector career[edit]
After he left the Marines Corps in 2008, Moulton attended a dual-degree program at the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School, earning master's degrees in business and public policy in 2011.[22][14] After graduate school, he worked for one year as managing director of the Texas Central Railway, a transportation firm. In 2011, Moulton and a graduate school classmate founded Eastern Healthcare Partners, which Moulton has invoked to show he was a "successful entrepreneur" who understands "what it's like to face that day when you might not meet payroll". The company raised investor funds and drafted a partnership agreement with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, but in October 2014 the Boston Globe reported that by the time Moulton ran for Congress, EHP had no revenue, was still incubating, and had closed its only Massachusetts office.[23][14]
Serve America PAC[edit]
In 2017, Moulton founded Serve America, a political action committee that aims to help elect candidates with national service experience, focusing primarily, but not exclusively, on military service.[55] The organization offers a network for candidates to build a community and receive advice from each other and Moulton.[56] This was beneficial for candidates like Abigail Spanberger who said, "[Moulton has] created a network of people who are able to lean on each other, share experiences, and discuss what the campaigns are like."[57]
Serve America played a significant role in flipping the U.S. House of Representatives majority from Republican to Democrat.[58] In the 2018 election cycle, the PAC raised over 7.5 million dollars for the candidates it endorsed. It raised the third largest amount of money among Democrats (after House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Senator Kamala Harris), according to campaign-finance non-profit Issue One.[59] During the midterm cycle, Serve America publicly supported 34 congressional Democratic candidates, out of which 18 were elected. Out of those 18, 15 had flipped from Republican to Democratic, representing more than half of the 28 seats Democrats gained.[58]
First-time candidates endorsed by Serve America who won their elections in the 2020 cycle included Mark Kelly from Arizona and Jake Auchincloss from Massachusetts’ 4th District. They also re-endorsed 21 successful incumbent candidates.
In the 2022 cycle, Serve America endorsed six first-time candidates who won their election.
Personal life[edit]
On June 23, 2017, Moulton announced his engagement to his girlfriend Liz Boardman, a senior client partner at an executive search firm.[101] They were married at the Old North Church in Marblehead, Massachusetts, on September 22, 2017.[102] She took on his last name, becoming Liz Moulton.[103] Their first child was born in October 2018.[104] In 2019, Moulton announced that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following his service in the Marine Corps.[105] On August 29, 2020, Moulton announced that the family was expecting a second child, who was born in February 2021.[106]