What moved two challengers to primary longtime incumbents

Two things are clear about legislative elections in Massachusetts: they're notoriously uncompetitive, and the few incumbents who do face challenges usually hang on to their seats. 

So what makes someone decide to jump into that fray anyway? Especially to take on a member of Senate leadership who's gone unopposed for more than a decade? 

Persis Yu, a Hyde Park Democrat primarying West Roxbury Sen. Mike Rush, said there wasn’t one specific thing that drove her decision.

"But I guess it culminates in the state of the world, and I'm a working mom who has advocated on behalf of working families, vulnerable populations, my entire career," said Yu, a consumer rights lawyer and advocate for student loan borrowers, said. "I'm extremely concerned about what's happening here in Massachusetts. I'm very worried about the affordability crisis and I'm very worried about protecting the people here in my community from the effects of the Trump administration, and I don't think that we're talking enough about how those two issues are very related to each other.”

Boston's Daniel Lander, who's challenging Sen. William Brownsberger of Belmont, said he started thinking about running when he watched the “five car-pileup” of bills left unresolved at the end of formal sessions in 2024.

“That was the moment where I said, it's time for new leaders, leaders who want to tackle how expensive it has gotten in the state,” Lander said in a debate hosted by the Charles River Regional Chamber. “The cost of housing, healthcare, energy, everything has skyrocketed, and we have, unfortunately on Beacon Hill, the least effective and least transparent legislature in the country, where good ideas go to die without a vote every single year.”

Brownsberger, later in debate, described himself as a "force for moving things" in the Legislature and also referenced that infamous 2024 end-of-session.

"Our 2024 affordable housing package, I dragged that across the finish line on that same night that so many other bills went to die," he said. "The part that I had, I don't have the whole ball of wax, but the part that I had came across the finish line." 

The two Senate primaries have their parallels and key differences. 

Thursday's debate was one of a handful of times Brownsberger and Lander have squared off. Yu, who's pushed to debate Rush, says their first event on the books is a forum next Thursday, which comes after some voters will already have cast their ballots. 

While Lander is running with a high-profile endorsement from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, the mayor is backing the incumbent Rush in his race. 

Yu, whose campaign plans to knock its 20,000th door this weekend, says she's not deterred by her opponent's big-name supporters.

“A long history and the endorsement of the establishment, those don't vote,” she said. “People vote.”

There are 42 contested primaries in the state Legislature this year. Are you voting in one? Running in one? Door-knocking? Tell me what the races look like in your neck of the woods: [email protected].

10:00 | USS Constitution gets underway from the Charlestown Navy Yard. While underway, the Constitution will perform a 21-gun salute off Fort Independence on Castle Island around 11:30 a.m. This will be followed by a 17-gun salute as the ship passes the U.S. Coast Guard Base Boston | Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston

12:30 | Gov. Healey holds a ceremonial bill-signing for the law she signed this month related to Norwood Hospital, enabling the state to take the property occupied by the under-construction facility by eminent domain. U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, Sen. Mike Rush, Rep. John Rogers and Norwood General Manager Tony Mazzucco participate | Norwood Central Station, 164 Broadway, Norwood

...Sixth Congressional District hopeful John Beccia is keeping up his offensive against fellow Democratic primary contender Dan Koh. Beccia knocked Koh Friday for receiving campaign donations from employees of corporate landlords Blackstone and KKR and for not mentioning private equity in the housing affordability platform on his website. “Families in the North Shore are losing their apartments and their shot at a first home, and the people profiting off that are writing checks to Dan Koh," Beccia said in a statement…

…The Mass. Fiscal Alliance also has an eye on Koh and another 6th District candidate, state Rep. Tram Nguyen. MassFiscal is running tongue-in-cheek social media ads, "thanking" the pair of Andover Democrats for their "embrace" of the Citizens United ruling that allows unlimited outside spending as long as independent groups and campaigns don’t coordinate directly. Nguyen and Koh both have sections on their website offering messaging guidance for supporters, a practice known as "red-boxing." MassFiscal, which has long cheered the 2010 court decision, welcomes Koh and Nguyen "to the club" in its paid posts, saying, "Sounds an awful lot like someone is enjoying the freedoms protected by Citizens United”…

…Socialist candidate for U.S. Senate Joe Tache is soundtracking his campaign with a hip-hop album coming out next week, "Time's Up for the Billionaires," which Tache says "denounces the status quo and the situation we find ourselves in, but also proposes an alternative — and that's the alternative we're fighting for in our socialist campaign and our socialist movement." The album features more than a dozen Boston-area artists. The title track is now streaming…

…The fall class of fellows at the Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics includes two Biden cabinet chiefs. Former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who's also served as Rhode Island governor, is a visiting fellow. Former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will be a resident fellow, with five others: Kelly Craft, who has been U.S. ambassador to both the United Nations and Canada; former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey; Chris Lu, an Obama administration alum and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations for management and reform; former U.S. ambassador to Croatia Nathalie Rayes; and author and Vanity Fair contributing writer Chris Whipple…

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EARLY, NOT OFTEN: It's been a decade since early voting first launched in Massachusetts. The in-person option has dropped in popularity while vote-by-mail has surged, but supporters say it’s an important avenue for participation in democracy. | State House News Service (gift link)

BIPARTISANSHIP: The state's Democratic and Republican parties find common ground with some labor unions and progressive groups in opposing Question 3, which would move Massachusetts elections to a system with candidates of all parties running on one primary ballot. | CommonWealth Beacon

DEBATED: In the final debate between U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and challenger Congressman Seth Moulton the themes of generational change, progressive bona fides and trans rights remained center stage as the race draws national attention. | The Hill

VIBE CHECK: The chair of the Milton Democratic Town Committee calls the primary between Congressman Stephen Lynch and Patrick Roath a "toss-up right now," while Lynch is dismissive of the challenge from his left and Roath has outraised the incumbent. | Boston Globe

OOPS: An Orange Line shuttle from Medford's Wellington Station took passengers to Stoneham instead of North Station. | CBS Boston

SHORTLISTED: The Democratic National Committee narrowed the finalist list for its 2028 convention to Boston, Denver and Philadelphia. | Axios Boston

BRIDGE BUYOUTS: The state has taken a dozen homes by eminent domain in the last eight months as it prepares for construction of the new Sagamore Bridge. Residents of the neighborhood’s remaining homes wonder what to expect. | Cape Cod Times

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KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller sits down with Republican candidate for governor Brian Shortsleeve to discuss his tax-cut plan, fixing the MBTA, and what makes him the best candidate against Gov. Maura Healey.

@ ISSUE: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard's guest is U.S. Sen. Ed Markey.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. Ed Harding and Sharman Sacchetti host a program featuring pre-produced packages with each of the six Democrats running in the Sixth Congressional District.

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