Four legislative races to watch in a slightly less sleepy year

It's an "above average" year across the country for competitive state legislative races, according to the online election resource Ballotpedia. In Massachusetts, that translates to a baby step up the ladder, shuffling up to second-to-last in Ballotpedia's competitiveness rankings from the very-bottom spot it's held for the previous five election cycles. 

Voters in 75% of state Senate districts and about 70% of House districts will see only one name on the ballot in the general election, though some of those candidates fought primary battles to make it this far. Ballotpedia's stats show 14% of Bay State incumbents faced contested primaries, and 23% of legislative seats have both a Democrat and a Republican on the ballot this fall. 

Here’s a look at a few of the pockets of competition sprinkled around the state: 

1st Bristol & Plymouth Senate: One of the Legislature's most powerful Democrats has a race in a reddening corner of Massachusetts. Gabriel "Boomer" Amaral, who last year came close to toppling Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan in a race that went to a recount, is now going up against Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Michael Rodrigues. Rodrigues, a Westport Democrat, has a gigantic war chest and support of his fellow senators, 14 of whom trekked to Fall River to canvas for him at one point. Amaral is positioning himself as an alternative to career politicians. 

Worcester and Hampshire Senate: Of the Senate's five-member Republican caucus, Spencer Sen. Peter Durant is the only one to draw a challenge this election cycle. He's facing West Brookfield Democrat Shannon Teabo, a first-time candidate endorsed by Progressive Mass. and the Massachusetts Working Families Party. Durant became the first Republican in more than five decades to hold his seat when he won a 2023 special election where pushback to gun-control legislation (which this year’s Question 9 would repeal) and response to the shelter-capacity crisis were among his main issues.  

3rd Bristol House: A little over a year after winning a Taunton House seat in a tight race, Democrat Lisa Field faces a rematch against Republican Larry Quintal. Field decisively beat back a primary challenge in September from Taunton Police Chief Ed Walsh, netting 75% of the vote. One issue in the contest is Auditor Diana DiZoglio's push to audit the Legislature, which Quintal supports. Field said she voted for the audit ballot question in 2024 but earlier this year supported a House bill that would set new terms around what DiZoglio would be able to review.

2nd Essex House: Hamilton Democrat Kristin Kassner unseated incumbent Republican Lenny Mirra by one vote in 2022, and posted a wider, 2,501-vote margin over her 2024 challenger, Mark Tashjian. Dan Kelly, an Ipswich Republican who managed Tashjian's campaign two years ago, is now taking on Kassner himself. He’s running with Mirra's backing and told the Ipswich Local News that if elected, he hopes to follow the mold of another former GOP rep on the North Shore, Brad Hill. Kassner has been endorsed by Sen. Ed Markey and Gov. Maura Healey.

9th Essex House: Saugus Republican Rep. Donald Wong is facing his first Democratic opponent since 2018 in Peter Meaney, a Navy veteran, dentist and Lynn city councilor. Republican candidate for governor Mike Minogue, Minogue finance chair Jennifer Nassour and one-time gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy all donated to Wong's campaign this cycle, while the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts' super PAC spent $8,000 this month on digital ads supporting him. Campaign finance reports show Meaney, who won his primary against Zosia VanMeter, spent $55,304 in September, more than the total Wong has reported spending since the start of 2022.

What legislative races are on your radar that are closer than people might think, interesting open-seat battles, drawing big spending or have otherwise caught your eye? Let me know at [email protected].

8:30 | UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development host a summit on artificial intelligence | University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Campus Center, 3rd Floor, Rm 3550 - 3545, Boston | More Info

8:45 | Lt. Gov. Driscoll gives remarks at the Horizons for Homeless Children 28th Annual Breakfast | Boston Marriot Copley Place, 110 Huntington Ave., Boston

9:00 | Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue holds a press conference to discuss his public safety agenda and concerns about the PROTECT Act, which limits local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. He'll be joined by representatives from two law enforcement organizations that have endorsed him, the New England Police Benevolent Association and the Massachusetts Police Association | State House steps

9:30 | Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meets, with plans to discuss and vote to solicit public comment on new early literacy regulations stemming from a literacy bill the Legislature passed earlier this year. Members will also discuss and vote on a performance evaluation for DESE Commissioner Pedro Martinez | Anne T. Dunphy School, 1 Petticoat Hill Rd., Williamsburg | Livestream

10:00 | Massachusetts Legislative Manufacturing Caucus, MassTech Collaborative and Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership host annual Manufacturing Awards Ceremony. Speakers include caucus co-chairs Sen. Paul Feeney and Rep. Jeff Roy, Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley and Kraft Group President Jonathan Kraft | Gillette Stadium, Cross Insurance Club, 1 Patriot Place, Foxborough

10:30 | Mass Save Impact Awards will honor 17 organizations and communities for energy efficiency, electrification, building modernization and other sustainability and resiliency initiatives. Awardees include Cambridge, Fall River, Quincy, Springfield, Lowell General Hospital, Athol, Townsend, Westwood and UMass Amherst | Great Hall

11:00 | Gov. Healey, Housing Secretary Juana Matias, Speaker Mariano and other officials participate in an internal infrastructure groundbreaking celebration for Union Point, a planned mixed-use redevelopment including 6,000 new homes on the site of the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station | 209 Houghton Rd., South Weymouth

1:30 | Boston Mayor Wu hosts a press conference to make what her office calls "a major announcement regarding new policy changes and initiatives to boost restaurant openings and operations in the city" | Marabou Cafe, 1592 Blue Hill Ave., Mattapan

2:45 | Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce holds an event focused on how transportation infrastructure, workforce access and economic development are influencing the commonwealth's future. Speakers include A Better City CEO Kate Dineen, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Timothy Murray and Western Mass Economic Development Council CEO Aaron Vega | 265 Franklin St., 17th floor, Boston

6:00 | Liberty Junction, the developer awarded a preliminary contract for a new Hampden County Justice Center, hosts a community meeting on the project alongside the NAACP, the Urban League, Hope CDC and several local officials | Rebecca M. Johnson School, 55 Catherine St., Springfield

6:30 | Department of Conservation and Recreation presents its report on strategies for reducing flooding along Nantasket Avenue and Hull Shore Drive | Oceanfront Hotels, 45 Hull Shore Dr., Hull | More Info

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RESIDENCY NOT REQUIRED: Regulations under review by the Cannabis Control Commission would let eligible patients from other states register to purchase medical marijuana here. | State House News Service (gift link)

LOTS OF QUESTIONS: Question 7, the complex proposal to allow homes to be built on smaller lots, aims to bring starter homes back to Massachusetts, where land prices are high but some neighborhoods require an acre for a single-family home. Even with lower land costs, it's an open question if new homes would be affordable. | Boston Globe

DASHING WRONG-WAY DRIVING: Transportation officials, giving an update on wrong-way crash prevention efforts after another fatality north of Boston, say one next step is alerts sent directly to wrong-way drivers' dashboards. A teenager died Sunday after driving head-on into another car in the northbound lanes of Route 1 in Revere. | Boston 25

FROM THE SKY: The Mass. National Guard will provide air support to firefighting efforts in Western Mass., using aircraft to drop water on a wildfire that started Sunday in Berlin, N.Y. and has crossed the border into Williamstown. | WCVB

IN THE ZONE: Marblehead, long a holdout, is officially in compliance with the MBTA Communities Act after state housing officials approved a zoning district with a low likelihood of major new housing development. Most of the capacity for new multi-family homes is on land that's now a privately owned golf course. | Marblehead Independent

JAIL DEATHS PROBED: As Boston city councilors held a hearing on in-custody deaths at the Suffolk House of Corrections, the mother of Shacoby Kenny, a 32-year-old whose December 2025 death was ruled a homicide, said there has been no accountability for the corrections officers involved.| Boston Herald

MILLBURY SETTLMENT: The Millbury school district will overhaul its harassment policies and pay an unspecified amount of money to the family of two Black sisters, who filed a civil rights complaint two years ago alleging months of racial bullying that drove the girls to leave the school. | GBH News

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