Two 20-something candidates for open seat know firsthand why young people leave

State Rep. Tram Nguyen has lots of company in her bid to become the next member of Congress from the 6th District, with five other Democrats and a Republican in the race. 

The contest to fill the seat she’s leaving behind on Beacon Hill is lonelier. 

"That's been the biggest surprise for me," Andover Democrat Connor Murray said. "I expected a five-way primary, a Democratic primary, and more than one Republican."

But that’s not how it shook out. Murray’s is the only name on the ballot in Tuesday’s primaries for the seat that represents Boxford and parts of Andover, North Andover and Tewksbury. Another candidate, Andover Republican Chris Shepley, is running a write-in campaign, hoping to earn the 150 votes needed to become his party’s nominee in the November general.

Whatever happens in September and November, the 18th Essex District could end up sending the State House a new youngest lawmaker: Shepley is 21 and Murray 23. (Lowell Rep. Tara Hong, elected two years ago at age 24, is currently the youngest state legislator). 

Neither Andover candidate is new to politics. Murray points to an eight-year history of activism, getting involved in gun violence prevention after the shooting at Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and later working on environmental and energy issues. He worked as field director on Hong’s 2024 campaign and interned for Sen. Vanna Howard. 

Shepley serves on the Andover School Committee, which he says has given him a front-row seat to the impacts of the legislative decisions around local aid and education policy.  He first dipped his toe in at 18, joining a Town Meeting debate to oppose plans to build a new high school over cost and tax concerns.

And they both have a firsthand perspective on one of the biggest challenges vexing policymakers. 

"Young people in general, people in their early 20s, are leaving Massachusetts because they can't afford to live here," Shepley said. "The cost of buying a house or trying to just rent in general is becoming significantly more and more expensive every year, so having young voices at the legislative level I think is very important." 

Murray said he can’t afford to leave his parents’ house and stay in the region.

"It's simply impossible, even on a state rep's salary," he said. "I'm going to have to save up pretty much all of my money to be able to one day afford to buy a house in the 18th Essex district. That's something that people my age, especially, that grew up here and want to stay here are really struggling with. We can't move out or we have to move away."

The district has flipped between Democrats and Republicans over the past two decades. Either way, this year it will shift to a new generation.

Editor’s note: yesterday’s MASSterList misstated former state Sen. Dean Tran’s party affiliation. He is a Fitchburg Republican. 

11:00 | State Fire Marshal Jon Davine and Massachusetts Firefighting Academy leadership present certificates of completion to 20 recruits graduating from the career recruit firefighter training class | Department of Fire Services, 100 Grochmal Ave., Springfield

..... State Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein's emergency order to temporarily classify all forms of kratom into Schedule I under state law takes effect today. The order says that kratom, a leafy tropical tree native to Southeast Asia whose unregulated products are widely sold at gas stations and convenience stores, is an "imminent hazard to the public safety"…..

Middlesex DA Marian Ryan had a busy fundraising day Thursday. Her "Women Leaders" breakfast at the UMass Club, according to the invite, featured Congresswoman Lori Trahan, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Senate President Karen Spilka, Sens. Cynthia Creem, Lydia Edwards, Cindy Friedman and Becca Rausch and Reps. Michelle Ciccolo, Colleen Garry, Danielle Gregoire, Kate Hogan, Amy Mah Sangiolo, Margaret Scarsdale and Priscila Sousa. Spilka, Gregoire and Sousa were also listed among the hosts for a separate afternoon reception in Framingham, along with Reps. Jack Lewis and David Linsky. Ryan's been highlighting her backing from Democratic pols recently as primary opponent David Solet, who's nearly matched her in 2026 fundraising through July, touts endorsements from police unions, the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. Solet's supporters take it as a sign she’s aligned with insiders and feeling some heat. His campaign schedule for the weekend includes a Tyngsboro block party, the 2026 Laborers International Union Family Day in Hopkinton and a Sunday visit to a Brazilian church.

In other weekend plans: 6th District congressional candidate and state Rep. Tram Nguyen plans a Sunday rally with Congresswomen Lori Trahan and Ayanna Pressley, Attorney General Andrea Campbell and other supporters ... Pressley and Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren hold a "Power to the People" rally for Sen. Ed Markey at IBEW Local 103 in Dorchester Saturday ... Markey challenger Congressman Seth Moulton's Saturday event is a "Rally for the Next Generation" on Lynn Commons, billed as a family-friendly event focused on universal pre-K and working family priorities … Gov. Maura Healey, looking beyond primary day to November, joins the Yes on 6 campaign at Hammond Pond in Newton Sunday to rally for a ballot question that would dedicate a portion of the sales tax on sporting goods to protecting water and nature.

Progressive Democrats of America endorsed Lynnfield's Mariah Lancaster, a veterinarian and former foreign affairs officer, for Congress in the open Sixth District primary. The group says Lancaster “is a progressive fighter who knows what's at risk with the Trump administration and what we can accomplish when we drive MAGA from Congress and the White House.”

Cambridge and Somerville Rep. Mike Connolly published a point-by-point rebuttal to a mailer sent by primary foe Neil Miller, calling its claims about his housing record "disrespectful to the voters." 

Former Somerville Rep. Carl Sciortino endorsed Medford School Committee member Paul Ruseau for his old seat. Sciortino said Ruseau, one of three Democratic candidates in the district now represented by Rep. Christine Barber, "isn’t running because he read about poverty in a book — he’s lived the gap between what failing systems deliver and what’s actually needed to get ahead." Ruseau worked on Sciortino's first House campaign. 

Senior Legal Counsel — NEW, Office of the Child Advocate

Marketing and Communications Manager, St. Francis House

Assistant Environmental Planner, City of Newton

Capital Projects & Procurement Manager, MetroWest Regional Transit Authority

Director of Centralized Project Development, 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

Job board continues below the fold — post a job

SNAIL MAIL: Secretary of State Bill Galvin says if you haven’t mailed your primary ballot yet, return it directly to your town hall or a local dropbox instead to make sure it arrives in time to be counted. The elections chief knocked what he called a “lame strategy” from President Trump to restrict mail-in voting. | WBUR

GREENER PASTURES: Healey administration climate chief Melissa Hoffer is decamping to the Green Mountain State to become president of Vermont Law and Graduate School. Gov. Maura Healey tapped Hoffer for the first-in-the-nation cabinet-level role on her first day in office, and her departure comes amid broader tensions around climate policy. | CommonWealth Beacon

INFLUENCING VOTERS: Social media influencers, both in campaign-paid sponsor content and independent videos, talk up Sen. Ed Markey for reelection while primary challenger Congressman Seth Moulton ramps up attacks on what his campaign calls the incumbent's "tech illiteracy and confusion about the difference between AI and social media." | State House News Service (gift link)

SIX QUESTIONS IN THE SIXTH: With no external polling in the Sixth Congressional District, fundraising splits the six Democrats running to succeed Rep. Seth Moulton into different tiers, but questions hang over the murky race. Voters will decide if they want an "establishment" Democrat, how much candidates’ stances on AI policy and U.S. support for Israel matter, and how much hostility toward Trump is enough. | GBH News

GOVERNMENT CENTER: Backing from Boston Mayor Wu has drawn attention and super PAC money to state Senate challengers Daniel Lander and Latoya Gayle, but also created a dynamic where the Democrats have had to affirm their independence from City Hall. | Boston Globe

CRAN PLAN: A nearly $2.8 million state grant will help restore 47 acres of retired cranberry bogs in Marston Mills to a wetland state, part of a project that will also collect community stories about the land's history. | CAI

WHEN DOLLY CAME TO TOWN: A 23-year-old Dolly Parton visited a Fitchburg theater in 1969, years before she became an icon, and performed in Worcester 16 years later. | Telegram & Gazette

MassHousing report confirms fraud findings in Spotlight investigation, says executive lied about conflict

Just outside Boston, a beloved woodland becomes permanently protected for public use

Legacy FC delays White Stadium debut to 2028

ShotSpotter didn't hear the gunfire that killed a man in Central Square, first incident since reactivation, police say

Bicycle shop in Marblehead, Massachusetts won't sell e-bikes to kids: "They're too fast"

KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller sits down with Republican candidate for governor Mike Minogue to discuss his plans for reviving manufacturing in Massachusetts, closing the MBTA operating deficit and eradicating “waste, fraud and corruption.”

@ ISSUE: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard takes a look at the six Democrats running in the Sixth Congressional District. All six full conversations are available now in the @ Issue podcast feed.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. NewsCenter 5 anchor Ed Harding and anchor/reporter Ben Simmoneau host a conversation on primary races in Massachusetts and across the country. Democratic political analyst Mary Anne Marsh and Republican political analyst Ginny Buckingham weigh in on key local races and White House correspondent Christopher Salas discusses consequential national contests.

CITYLINE: 11:30 a.m., WCVB. NewsCenter 5 anchor Jessica Brown hosts a program featuring one-on-one discussions with Suffolk County district attorney candidates Kevin Hayden, Rachael Rollins and Linda Champion.

Information Technology Director, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General

Instructor, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General

Payroll and Benefits Manager, City of Fitchburg

MLRI Senior Economic Justice Attorney, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute

MLRI Economic Justice Attorney Safety Net Programs, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute

Project Manager, Elephant Energy

Public Service Coordinator, University of Massachusetts Boston

Vice President for Ocean Conservation, Conservation Law Foundation

Lead Organizer / VISTA and Civic Engagement Project Coordinator, Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants

Senior Government Relations Specialist, Boston Children’s Hospital

Grants and Development Specialist II, Metropolitan Area Planning Council

Senior Manager of External Affairs, Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate

Transportation Planner, City of Malden

Senior Director, City Talent and Student Career Pathways, Harvard Kennedy School

Director of Public Affairs and Communications, Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization