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Seth Moulton's opposition to another ground war in Iraq is rooted in firsthand experience acquired from four tours. As a young Marine, he saw how quickly a militant threat could transform U.S. military advisers into a force entangled in the months-long battle for control of Najaf, some 100 miles south of Baghdad.

These are not simply the doubts of a former platoon leader three years after combat forces left. Moulton is challenging nine-term Democratic Rep. John Tierney in Tuesday's bitter, crowded Massachusetts primary. His military service has drawn attention to his first-time candidacy and made him a formidable foe to Tierney.

"Americans have to realize that when the president says he's sending military advisers to Iraq, make no mistake, these are U.S. special forces or Marines or Rangers or other units that are American ground troops," Moulton said in an interview. It was true in Vietnam, he points out. It was true of Iraq.

Moulton's reservations reflect a war-weary nation's skepticism about the next U.S. steps to fulfill President Barack Obama's vow to destroy Islamic State militants and rising fear about mission creep as American forces in Iraq now exceed 1,000.

The race in the northeast corner of Massachusetts stands as one of the few where an incumbent House Democrat is fighting off members of his own party. In June, New York Democrats gave Rep. Charlie Rangel a clear shot at a 23rd term in his primary. In California, seven-term Rep. Mike Honda is in a tough race with fellow Democrat Ro Khanna after they finished one-two in the state's jungle primary.

Democrats will hold those two seats, but Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District is up for grabs in November's general election. The GOP is upbeat about the prospects for Richard Tisei, a former state senator and openly gay Republican who nearly knocked out Tierney in 2012, losing by just 4,330 votes.

Tierney is a political survivor who won re-election despite a gambling scandal involving family members, including his wife. The Democratic stalwart who has focused on education and jobs during his 17 years in the House proudly boasts of his office's constituent service. He argues that experience is what matters to voters even as Democrats are expected to remain in the minority in the House.

"They can have a backbencher who's just trying to get their feet on the ground, especially here in the minority, or you can have somebody who's been there, who's respected by people on both sides," the 62-year-old Tierney said of Moulton in an interview.

Tierney is facing four Democratic rivals in the primary, including Moulton, a 35-year-old businessman.

The Harvard graduate who enlisted in the Marines in 2001 was first on the air with a campaign ad in which he tells voters, "I'm a progressive Democrat who opposed the war in Iraq. But I also was a Marine serving my country. So I went, led my platoon and always ate last after my men."

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Marine, Iraq Vet Aims to Oust House Democrat