SEEKONK, Mass. (WPRI) — The field is set for the Sept. 1 primary to succeed Congressman Joe Kennedy III in Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District.

Nine Democrats — Newton residents Jake Auchincloss and Becky Grossman; Brookline residents Dave Cavell, Alan Khazei, Ihssane Leckey, Natalia Linos, Jesse Mermell and Ben Sigel; and Wellesley resident Christopher Zannetos — qualified for the primary ballot by Tuesday’s deadline, according to the secretary of state’s office.

On the Republican side, two candidates — Julie Hall of Attleboro and David Rosa of Dighton — will square off for the GOP nomination to take on the Democratic standard-bearer.

Candidates have until Friday to withdraw, and that is also the deadline to file objections. Independent candidates have until Aug. 25 to file their paperwork for the November election.

The 4th District stretches from northern Fall River up through the Attleboros and Taunton into Newton and Brookline. Kennedy first won the seat in 2012 but is moving on to challenge incumbent Ed Markey in this year’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary. (Kennedy and Markey will square off in their only Southeastern Massachusetts debate on WPRI 12 next Monday at 7 p.m.)

No public polling has been conducted in the 4th District Democratic primary, which was already being overshadowed by the marquee Kennedy-Markey content before the coronavirus pandemic pushed campaign politics even further out of the headlines. National analysts generally classify the district as a safe Democratic seat.

Federal Election Commission filings show Khazei, founder of City Year, and Auchincloss, a Newton city councilor, have raised the most money so far, with more than $1 million each; however, Auchincloss has raised more than Khazei for use in the primary as opposed to the general election.

Ted Nesi (tnesi@wpri.com) is WPRI 12’s politics and business editor and a Target 12 investigative reporter. He is a weekly panelist on Newsmakers and hosts Executive Suite. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook