Four Beacon Hill primary races to watch

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Last week, MASSterList asked readers about the House and Senate primary races in their districts. One week out from Primary Day, here’s a look at four races subscribers flagged as worth watching.

5th Middlesex Senate: It’s Malden against Melrose in the race for one of two open Senate seats this cycle. Sen. Jason Lewis of Winchester is not running for reelection and has endorsed Melrose Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian to succeed him. Lipper-Garabedian, a former Melrose city councilor who won her House seat in a 2020 special election, is also running with the backing of Gov. Maura Healey and Melrose Mayor Jen Grigoraitis. She’s facing off against two Malden city councilors. Carey McDonald's supporters include Malden Mayor Gary Christenson, Progressive Mass. and the Massachusetts Working Families Party. McDonald is executive vice president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, with a background in education policy. They're the first out transgender elected official in Malden. Ryan O'Malley, an affordable housing attorney and former park ranger, has been endorsed by the Mass. Teachers Association and supports Auditor Diana DiZoglio's bid to audit the Legislature. There’s no Republican on the ballot, setting up a smooth shot to the Senate for whichever Democrat prevails.

6th Norfolk House: The Karen Read trial and the death of Sandra Birchmore loom large over the race for Norfolk district attorney. Public sentiment over the two high-profile cases could also spill into the race to succeed retiring Canton Rep. William C. Galvin. Of the three Democrats running, one, Michael Loughran, chaired the Canton Select Board when it moved its meetings to Zoom as frustrations over the Read case were boiling over during public comment periods. Another, Steve Cavey, was endorsed by former rep and Stoughton Town Manager Tom Calter, who is embroiled in a dispute with Stoughton Police Chief Donna McNamara. McNamara, who ordered an internal affairs investigation into the Birchmore case, charges that Calter forced her off the job, and he denies her claims. Cavey, a Stoughton selectman, says there are "serious allegations" concerning both McNamara and Calter, and the two officials deserve due process. In his campaign, Cavey names support for schools and local government as a top priority. Loughran, describing himself as a seasoned community leader, says he wants to continue Galvin's legacy. The third candidate is Lisa Lopez, a former Canton Select Board member who was the third woman ever elected to the body. She now chairs the town's housing authority and says she wants to work on housing affordability in the Legislature.

9th Essex House: Two Lynn Democrats are vying to flip a district that also includes parts of Wakefield and most of Saugus. The winner of the primary between City Councilor Pete Meaney and Zosia VanMeter, the director of Lynn's inspectional division, will face Saugus Republican Rep. Donald Wong. Wong is known in the district both as a lawmaker of 15 years and a member of the family that owns the Kowloon Restaurant, but the Democrats say they'll be more responsive if elected. Each has outraised and outspent him so far this year. Meaney in particular has more than $110,000 on hand. The dentist and Navy veteran wants to freeze construction of AI data centers and lower the cost of living. VanMeter, an immigrant from the Philippines and founder of the community nonprofit Athena Project Lynn, counts housing, education and public safety among her priorities.

12th Hampden House: Rep. Angelo Puppolo hasn't faced a primary opponent since he first won his seat in 2006. Wilbraham Democrat Michael Lachenmeyer launched his bid against Puppolo last year, calling for change, and has been endorsed by the River Valley Democratic Socialists of America, with chapter co-chair Sasha Morsmith saying Lachenmeyer "will stand up to the Democratic establishment that has failed to provide better lives for working people in Massachusetts despite functional one-party control." Puppolo entered the final month of primary campaigning with a formidable war chest of more than $227,000. A radio ad featuring his daughter says he's "brought home millions in funding for seniors, veterans, transportation, education and new school construction."

It’s the home stretch of primary season, with early voting underway, tens of thousands of ballots already mailed in and just days to go until polls close. Send your campaign news, tips, last lap of endorsements and eyebrow-raising debate moments to [email protected].

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HAPPENING TODAY

9:00 | MassDOT's Public-Private Partnership Infrastructure Oversight Commission meets for the second time in as many days | MassDOT District 3 Headquarters, 499 Plantation St., Worcester | More Info

10:00 | Cannabis Control Commission meets with plans to take a vote regarding amendments to the emergency regulations commissioners adopted in June to meet a deadline within a new law overhauling the state's cannabis industry | 2 Washington Sq., Worcester | Access and Agenda

10:30 | State Lottery Commission meets. Treasurer Goldberg chairs the meeting | For access, contact the Lottery's Legal Department at (781) 917-6057 or via email [email protected]

11:00 | Cannabis Control Commission holds public hearing on testing regulations and protocols as part of the process for implementing a new law overhauling the state's cannabis industry | 2 Washington Sq., Worcester | Info and Access

3:00 | Congressman McGovern attends a ribbon cutting celebration for the newly constructed Bernardston Fire Station | 167 Northfield Road, Bernardston | Livestream

6:00 | GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue hosts a campaign rally | Steaming Tender Restaurant, 28 Depot St., Palmer | RSVP

6:00 | MassDOT hosts a virtual public hearing to present the design for a proposed project that consists of the reconstruction of the intersection of Mount Pleasant Street and Nash Road in New Bedford | More Info and Register

JOB BOARD

Assistant Environmental Planner — NEW, City of Newton

Capital Projects & Procurement Manager — NEW, MetroWest Regional Transit Authority

Director of Centralized Project Development — NEW, University of Massachusetts Amherst Donahue Institute

Hellman and Simons Fellow for Science, Engineering, & Technology, American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Enforcement Counsel, Mass Gaming Commission

Chief of Staff, Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate

Information Technology Director, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General

Instructor, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General

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FROM BEACON HILL

ICE GUIDANCE: New back-to-school season guidance from the Healey administration spells out how schools and daycare centers should respond to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents under a new state law that restricts where ICE can make civil arrests without a warrant. | WCVB

HEAD OF THE CLASS: José Luis Santos, chief of staff for the Department of Higher Education, will lead the agency on an interim basis after Commissioner Noe Ortega steps down next month. State officials hope to have a new commissioner on the job early next year. | State House News Service (gift link)

PRISON HEALTH HELP: The Department of Correction is launching a new portal where prisoners will be able to request medical care electronically for the first time. The tool is one of several changes after a string of six prisoner suicides last year. | MassLive

Massachusetts lawmakers passed energy bills (S.3166 and H.5175) this year to lower electricity costs through measures like modernized residential solar permitting and flexible interconnection. As lawmakers negotiate the final bill language, they should be wary of an under-the-radar provision that risks undermining the bill’s positive reforms. Learn more about how fixed charges raise electricity bills here.

NEWS NEXT DOOR

DOWN, NOT OUT: A new MassBio report shows the state's biopharma industry lost jobs in 2025 for the first time in the more than two decades. Industry leaders still see signs of momentum. | WBUR

OFF THE RAILS: A stretch of shutdowns across MBTA subway lines as the transit agency makes improvements, pursues upgrades and works through a maintenance backlog means disruptions and delays for riders. | Boston Globe

TALKS NOT BLOCKED: A Superior Court judge's ruling will let talks move forward on the controversial Springfield courthouse project. The judge cited "myriad difficulties" with the plaintiffs' argument that the state's Division of Capital Asset Management broke ethics law in picking a development team headed by interim convention center authority head John Barros, and the losing bidders say they plan to appeal the ruling and keep their lawsuit going. | Western Mass Politics & Insight

CHURCH AND STATE (LAW): An effort to move a Hyannis homeless shelter to a more accessible building is snarled in a legal dispute. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fall River is suing Barnstable after the Zoning Board of Appeals overturned its building permit, on the heels of a similar Somerville case earlier this year that also involved the Dover Amendment, the state law carving out properties used for religious purposes from local zoning rules. | Boston.com

NAMING RITES: A new academic building at Lowell High School will be named in honor of the late state Sen. Ed Kennedy, a former Mill City mayor who pushed to keep the high school downtown. The school’s student support center will bear the name of another former mayor, Bill Samaras. | Inside Lowell

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