WMass high school teacher plans 2026 challenge to Rep. Neal
Photo by Douglas Hook
By Daniel Jackson
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS - Jeromie Whalen says his lack of experience holding or even running for public office is an asset as he challenges U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, for his seat in Congress.
Whalen, who taught communications and media production at Northampton High School before taking the year off to campaign, filed his statement of organization with the Federal Elections Commission at the end of July.
On Sept. 6, the South Hadley resident plans to release a complete policy platform — more than a year before Democratic voters will pick their candidate for Massachusetts’ 1st District.
“When we have a lack of leadership from the top, it makes my job a hell of a lot harder,” Whalen, 38, said. “It makes the jobs of nurses and union members and … the farmers, like literally everybody’s life harder if we don’t have leadership that can stand up to what we’ve been experiencing.”
Some blame for the country’s current political climate, Whalen said, lies at the feet of Neal, the longtime lawmaker who is ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, because of his acceptance of PAC and corporate donations.
Independent news outlet The Shoestring reported last year that Neal was one of the top recipients of PAC donations in Congress.
The funding has fostered apathy among voters in Western Massachusetts, Whalen believes, and he questioned if the power Neal wields in Congress actually benefits the region.
When asked about Neal’s primary challenger, the lawmaker’s campaign committee issued a statement: “Congressman Neal is fighting back against Donald Trump and Republicans’ reckless budget that slashes healthcare for working families to give tax breaks to the wealthy and add trillions to the deficit. The Congressman is laser-focused on holding Republicans accountable and taking back the House in 2026.”
Whalen said he views his campaign as an opportunity to challenge not just the current Trump administration but the current political process as a whole.
“I’m out here doing grassroots stuff, raising money one small donor at a time,” Whalen said. “And I’m proud of that. When I get a $50 donation, I immediately call that person up and say, ‘Hey, thank you, how are you doing?’”
Whalen said the nation needs universal health care and he’d like to bring the state’s Fair Share Amendment, aka the millionaire’s tax, to the national stage. He’d like to see the Department of Education not just restored but its role expanded nationally.
“People usually say that these things are incredibly progressive and they’re dreamer ideas,” Whalen said. “These aren’t dreamer ideas. These are necessities for a functioning society.”
Whalen said his lack of political ties allows him to think big on such ideas.
Whalen, who describes himself as a T-shirt-wearing, Cumberland Farms coffee-drinking candidate, said that along with grassroots support, he will tap help from national consultants.
“I really got nothing to lose when it comes to this,” Whalen said. “If I lose, I have a community that loves me. I have students that love and respect me. I can go back to my life.”
What he doesn’t want to do, he said, is tread the halls of Congress into his 70s.
During the 2024 general election, Neal faced independent Nadia Milleron, a Sheffield resident who lobbied for airline safety following the death of her daughter in a 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash and who said Neal’s office failed to assist her effort. Winning his 19th term in Congress, Neal received 62.6% of the vote to Milleron’s 37.4%.
The Richard E. Neal for Congress Committee has about $3.9 million cash on hand, according to the FEC.