Ayanna Pressley
**FILE** Ayanna Pressley, Boston city councilwoman and House Democratic candidate, gives a victory speech at her primary night gathering in Boston on Sept. 4 after her opponent Mike Capuano, a 10-term incumbent in Massachusetts' 7th District, conceded the race. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Ayanna Pressley, who broke barriers in 2009 when she became the first woman of color elected to the Boston City Council, beat 10-time incumbent Democratic Rep. Mike Capuano Tuesday to win the Democratic nomination for Massachusettsโ€™ 7th Congressional District.

If she wins in November, Pressley, 44, will become the only Black member of the stateโ€™s mostly male congressional delegation.

โ€œIโ€™ve been told to wait my turn,โ€ Pressley said at a campaign event earlier this year. โ€œIโ€™ve been called a traitor for challenging an incumbent, told simply this isnโ€™t the way things are done here.โ€

She is the second woman of color this election cycle to oust a venerable Democrat, following Puerto Rican socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezโ€™ stunning victory in June over incumbent Rep. and Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley in New Yorkโ€™s 14th Congressional District.

This correspondent is a guest contributor to The Washington Informer.

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