Happy Saturday,
Phew. What a week.
It was a week of thrilling wins and disappointing losses. At least three of our endorsed candidates won their races, with one so close that it is headed for recount: a major statement to the Beacon Hill establishment. But before we get into the outcomes, I have some gratitude to share.
First, I want to thank our endorsement committee. This amazing group of volunteers spent many weeknight meetings from March to July hammering out the details of our endorsement questionnaire and settling on a fair process. On their own time, they read dozens of questionnaires, conducted interviews, and delivered recommendations to our board. These many hours of volunteer work enabled us to support eight fantastic candidates with endorsement. If you served on our endorsement committee this year, thank you for your work! If you didn’t, and might like to, I hope you will consider applying in 2028.
Next, I want to thank our endorsed candidates. It takes a tremendous amount of work to run for office, especially as an upstart candidate in Massachusetts, where incumbents are considerably advantaged. Running on a platform of change in the legislature is even harder, which pits you against corporate and moneyed interests who like things the way they are. Each of our endorsed candidates, and others who took on incumbents this year, deserve kudos for how hard they worked and the message that they brought to voters.
I also owe a huge thank you to the fantastic Act on Mass supporters who turned out to support our endorsed candidates this year, joining phonebanks or canvasses, telling your neighbors about the need for change in our state legislature, or simply voting for our candidates on your own ballot. Although electoral organizing is just one part of our mission, it is a crucial one that allows us to reach new voters, force incumbents to answer for the dysfunction on Beacon Hill, and build power inside and outside the state house. Thank you for playing a part in that!
Next, I want to thank my fellow Act on Mass staff: our organizing director, Isabel, and our three wonderful interns, Alena, Ashley, and Oscar. These guys worked their tails off this summer, coordinating with candidates to lead canvasses, phonebanks, and workshops from Springfield to Braintree to Lowell. We could not have done this without their tremendous efforts.
Last but not least, I want to thank Act on Mass’ amazing grassroots donors. It is your backing that allows us to work around the clock for our mission, supporting candidates and allies who will fight for change in the state house, educating voters about the issues in the state house, and pushing for reform. Our victories are yours too!
State House Scoop
Primary takeaways: checking in on Act on Mass’ endorsed candidates
Without further ado, here are the outcomes for our endorsed candidates this Tuesday!
WIN: Persis Yu defeated incumbent Senator Mike Rush for the Democratic nomination for the Norfolk & Suffolk Senate seat, with 51.1% of the vote. This is a major upset for the Senate, where Sen. Rush is currently the high-ranking Majority Whip. With no general election challenger, Persis is the likely Senator-elect.
Here’s a quote from Persis about her stunning win: “People want a better economy to take care of their families and a legislature that is accountable to them, not to leadership in the State House. People want bold ideas. They want a north star. To know there’s something we’re working towards. People want to hear what’s possible, not what the constraints are.” We couldn’t agree more, and we’re so excited that Persis will bring this message to Beacon Hill in January.
WIN: Lorena Betts decisively won her competitive primary for the Democratic nomination in the 16th Middlesex House district, with 70.3% of the vote. We were lucky to join Lorena’s team for a rainy “Get Out the Vote” canvass and State House 101 on election day. This incredible community leader will face Republican Karla Miller in November, so expect to hear from us about her race!
WIN: Ravi Simon won his uncontested race for Democratic nominee for the 13th Middlesex State House. With no Republican challenger, Ravi is the likely rep-elect! We will canvass in Sudbury with his campaign on September 13th to make sure voters know about the election and why change is needed at the legislature—sign up now!
We are so excited to work with these likely members of the 195th General Court to push for change in our legislature. Next up…
RECOUNT: Daniel Lander’s race against Senator William Brownsberger has remained so close that it has not been called. As of today, Sen. Brownsberger just moved back into the lead, by 34 votes, while some votes are still being counted. This race is moving to a district-wide recount. Although we’re hopeful that the recount could result in a win for Lander, we want to emphasize that such a close outcome against the #3 member of Senate leadership is a win in itself. Leadership can try to ignore our movement for change, but it’s knocking on their door!
The Lander campaign has put out a call for volunteers to assist with the recount effort. They need help in Boston and Watertown on Wednesday and in Belmont and Cambridge on Thursday. If you have time this week to help out and could make it to one of those locations, please consider signing up! We will make sure that every vote is counted.
LOSSES: Sadly, our other endorsees Mike Zullas, Evan MacKay, Alison Leary, and Michael Lachenmeyer were unsuccessful in their races against entrenched incumbents. We are so grateful for the work that these candidates put in to reach their neighbors and raise awareness of the need change in the state house. They made their opponents fight hard for their seats: a rarity in Massachusetts. We were proud to endorse these hard-working candidates and are excited to continue working with them as allies for state house reform in their districts.
Indeed, it was a primary election that put Massachusetts’ incumbent advantage problem on full display. Despite a record number of congressional challengers, all of Massachusetts’ incumbent congressional reps were re-elected. In the state senate, just four (out of 40) incumbent senators faced a primary challenge; until we have the results of Lander-Brownsberger, Sen. Rush is currently the only one to lose his primary.
In the MA House, 22 incumbents (out of 160) faced a primary challenge: the highest number of primary challenges in the MA House since at least 2010. And yet, just one incumbent rep was defeated in a primary: Rep. Francisco Paulino, who was arrested on federal fraud charges last week.
Taking in these results, I was once again frustrated about our legislators’ choice to move their own primary day to September 1st. As we highlighted in a social media video this week, September 1st is when leases turn over for 70% of renters in the Boston area, making it moving day for many—including me! It was the first or second day of school for numerous area schools, impacting young parents and teachers alike. It’s not hard to imagine how some of these races might have turned out differently if key voting populations didn’t face barriers to voting on Election Day.
Once my boxes are unpacked and we’ve had a few more days to process Tuesday’s results, we will follow up with additional analysis. For one, this primary saw a record amount of Super PAC spending, mostly to prop up incumbents. There are many lessons to be learned from who was funding races and how effective their money was. Also, we will explore how the legislature’s new procrastination rules impacted this year’s primary, with many major bills still outstanding.
For now, I’ll leave you with a quote from candidate Daniel Lander‘s election-night party:
“ Every single legislator, from the Senate president on down, they will have nightmares tonight. Because they know that if they pour all their resources, hundreds of thousands of dollars, get all of their lobbyist buddies together to try and prop up one of the most powerful people in the state, and it is within double digits, they know that nobody is safe, and that people in this state know we can do more.”
Couldn’t have said it better. That’s why challenging incumbents and pushing for change at the ballot box is so important, win or lose. Our wins this week show that we’re gaining power; the losses show us that we have more work to do. It’s the people against entrenched power, and our voice will be heard. Until next week!
| Missed a Scoop or two? You can find a full archive of all past Saturday Scoops on our blog. |
What else we’re reading this week
Great reporting from around the Bay State this week!
- ICE arrests continue to rise in Mass., but far less than in other parts of the countryin WBUR
- OPINION: Persis Yu’s blueprint for challenging entrenched power on Beacon Hill in Boston Globe (paywall)
- Let’s say a ballot question passes in November. What happens next? in Commonwealth Beacon
Take Action
Volunteer in the Lander-Brownsberger recount!
Help the citizens of the Suffolk & Middlesex district ensure that every vote is properly counted by volunteering for the recount effort this week.
BOSTON: Join advocacy groups for “Democracy Drinks” – Sept. 8th, 6 pm
Who said democracy activists can’t have a little fun? Join Act on Mass and our allies in the reform movement for “Democracy Drinks” in Boston this Tuesday at 6 p.m.!
Thanks for reading and for supporting Act on Mass! Have a great weekend.
Scotia
Scotia Hille (she/her)
Executive Director, Act on Mass