Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton is now focusing on his re-election to Congress next year.

On Sunday, before the Democrat returned to Washington, he was in his North Shore congressional district, reconnecting publicly with constituents for the first time since he dropped out of the 2020 presidential race Friday.

He sat at a picnic table in Newburyport holding his infant daughter in his arms, bottle-feeding her as we talked. He'd had a couple of days to figure out what he wishes he had done differently in his presidential run.

"Well, of course, I should have gotten in earlier, but the reason I didn't is right here in my lap, so I don't have any regrets," Moulton said. "The response I was getting on the ground was fantastic, but there weren't always enough people there.

"We had a town hall in Iowa just about a week ago," he added, "and someone said, 'Seth, you're amazing.' And he went through all the other candidates and how I match up against them. 'You're the nominee that we need, but we need 500 people here, not 30.' And he's right. So that's just the way it works sometimes."

Moulton received a warm reception at the Democratic picnic. One woman welcomed him home and thanked him for both his military and political service.

"I like Seth Moulton," said Emily Sheehan, of Newburyport. "I didn't feel like he had the support behind him for this run. I'd like to see him run in future years, and I like him as our representative quite a bit. I'd like him to stay as our representative."