U.S. Rep. Richard Neal embraces his family after defeating challenger Jeromie Whalen in the Massachusetts’s 1st Congressional District primary race.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre
SPRINGFIELD — Uproarious applause rang throughout The Cedars banquet room on 375 Island Pond Road as Pittsfield’s numbers appeared on the NBC News telecast just before 11 p.m.
Not only had U.S. Rep. Richard Neal earned 58% of the vote in the largest Berkshire County community, but he had also officially won the primary election against challenger Jeromie Whalen.
Shortly thereafter, the applause turned increasingly boisterous as the crowd gave Neal a standing ovation when he and his team entered the room. Now past 11 p.m., the congressman basked in the victory, embraced his family, waved at the cameras and stood one step closer to his 20th term in the U.S. House of Representatives and seventh representing the westernmost part of the state.
The only person now in his way is a familiar foe: independent candidate and aviation safety activist Nadia Milleron, whom Neal defeated in November 2024 by earning 62% of the vote.
“I’m not done fighting for you,” Neal said in front of his supporters following the victory. “We’ve still got an election in November, but I know when I look at this audience, I’m yielding in your friendship, loyalty and support all of these years … let’s take it to November, reclaim the House of Representatives, and I can become chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.”
Despite the victory, the night was not always pretty for Neal. Underlying numbers suggested that the congressman lost some ground in some communities, including Holyoke, which Whalen won with 56% of the vote.
However, those gains for Whalen ultimately proved futile once Neal earned major wins in Springfield (65% of the vote), Chicopee, Westfield, Agawam and Pittsfield. According to results on the NBC News website, Neal secured 53% of the vote to Whalen’s 46%, or 46,125 votes to Whalen’s 39,714.
Much like he had throughout his campaign trail, Neal touted his accomplishments as chair of the Committee on Ways and Means, the oldest tax-writing body in the House. He specifically highlighted the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the latter of which offered relief to the American people during COVID-19, as major milestones during his most recent term.
Neal also emphasized the reopening of a hospital in North Adams and the procurement of $265 million in earmarked money for a new Holyoke Soldiers Home as other major accomplishments under his tutelage.
“I’ve spent my lifetime working on these issues for the people of this district,” Neal said. “There’s not a family, and I want to say this firmly, there is not a family in Western or central Massachusetts that has not benefited from my work or been impacted by my influence in Congress.”
Days before the election, Whalen and Neal faced off in their lone debate of the season at the WWLP TV-22 Studios in Chicopee. The head-to-head encounter illustrated a fissure between the candidates, as Whalen took shots at Neal’s lack of in-person town halls and use of corporate money to push certain agendas, while Neal criticized Whalen for a campaign that was “Light on facts, empty on promises, big on platitudes.”
That acrimony, however, seemingly fizzled out following Neal’s victory. The congressman said that Whalen called him to congratulate Neal on the victory. He described the call as “pleasant” and added that he was “delighted” by the conversation. In his own closing speech, Whalen said he congratulated Neal on the victory.
“I would say that there was no acrimony, which is what a campaign is supposed to end on,” Neal said about his final encounter with Whalen.
A high school educator of 11 years, Whalen ran on a promise of abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, surtaxing the wealthy, supporting green new deals and protecting the working and middle classes. He argued that a new voice was needed for a new generation of Democratic leadership.
Despite falling short of his goal, Whalen appeared to look back fondly on the experience. He said he was “eternally grateful” for his team that stuck by him and added that the campaign journey “restored faith” in himself and humanity.
He argued that the opponent was not the congressman or corporate money, but a failure to believe. With that, he urged people to believe in themselves and the greater good going forward.
“When I’m back in class, I will look back at this night, and at this inflection point in American history, and know that we etched our names into it with courage, conviction and compassion,” Whalen said. “Because we’ve won regardless. No one can ever take this from us. The relationships we’ve made, the community we’ve built, the good we’ve brought into the world, these are ours to keep and ours to give.”
Looking ahead, Neal said there’s still much to fight if he’s officially reelected. He said he intends to stand up to President Donald Trump on the tariff issue and his decision to eliminate tax credits from the Affordable Care Act.
“Twenty-one million Americans received health insurance because of what we did,” Neal said of the legislation. “There was no reason for the President to eliminate those tax credits for those people, and we’re going to return to that immediately as well and restore those tax credits to people who need decent healthcare every single day.”
Neal added that he plans to fight for the nutrition programs that were cut from the tax bill and will continue to stand up for Social Security “like [he] always [has].”
“I look at those credits, I look at Medicaid, funding to SNAP, and we’re going to rein in this reckless war in Iran that was a war of choice,” Neal said. “We are certainly going to hold ICE to account for what they’ve done, as well.”
Neal will face Milleron in the general election on Nov. 3.
