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.

A former Marine Corps officer, he is a member of the Democratic Party.

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.

He has two younger siblings, Eliza and Cyrus, and grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

He graduated from Phillips Academy in 1997, 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.

Moulton joined the Marine Corps after graduation, a few months before the September 11 attacks.

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 attended the Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia, and graduated in 2002 with the rank of second lieutenant.

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Moulton led one of the first infantry platoons to enter Baghdad.

He served a total of four tours of duty in Iraq from 2003 to 2008.

Moulton took part in the 2003 Battle of Nasiriyah, leading a platoon that cleared a hostile stronghold.

In that action, he went to the aid of a Marine wounded by friendly fire, and for his actions was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for valor.

In 2003, Moulton co-hosted a television program with his Iraqi interpreter, Mohammed Harba, called Moulton and Mohammed, in which they discussed regional conditions in the period following the U.S. invasion before an audience of U.S. servicemen and Iraqi citizens.

The show ended after three months when Moulton's unit left the area.

Between 2003 and 2008, Moulton was frequently interviewed about his experiences as an officer in Iraq by U.S. national media, including CNN, MSNBC, and NPR programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

Moulton was active in combat against insurgent forces in Iraq, including the 2004 Battle of Najaf against the militia of Muqtada al-Sadr.

Over two days, he "fearlessly exposed himself to enemy fire" as his platoon was pinned down under heavy fire and then directed the supporting fire that repelled the attack.

He received the Bronze Star Medal for his actions in this battle.

Moulton was also prominently featured in the 2007 Academy Award-nominated documentary No End in Sight.

In the film, he criticizes the U.S. government's handling of the occupation of Iraq.

Director Charles H. Ferguson chose to include Moulton and two other Iraq veterans.

In 2008, during Moulton's fourth tour of duty in Iraq, General David Petraeus requested that he be assigned to work as a special liaison with tribal leaders in Southern Iraq.

After that tour, Moulton was discharged from the Marine Corps with the rank of captain.

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.

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".

Moulton considered running against Democratic Representative John F. Tierney of Massachusetts's 6th congressional district as an Independent in 2012, but decided against it in July 2012, saying, "the time and the logistics of putting together all the campaign infrastructure, organizing the volunteers ... the fundraising—it's just too much to accomplish in three months."

He told Roll Call that his own polling "showed there was in fact a clear path to victory" and said he might run for office in the future.

On July 8, 2013, Moulton announced his candidacy in the 2014 congressional race for Massachusetts's 6th district.

The race had been recognized for its competitiveness by national and regional media throughout the election cycle.

Moulton challenged Tierney in the Democratic primary.

Tierney's campaign claimed in campaign advertisements that Moulton received campaign contributions from a New Hampshire political action committee that previously donated only to Republicans, implying that Moulton must hold conservative views.

Moulton denied being more conservative than Tierney, and said that the Republican PAC donation was returned.

He entered politics in 2014, when he was elected to represent Massachusetts's 6th congressional district.

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.

In early 2019, Moulton was seen as a potential presidential candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2020.

Publicly expressing his interest in the prospect, he traveled to early primary states.

After announcing his candidacy on April 22, 2019, Moulton withdrew from the race on August 23.