The Contested Legislative Races In Massachusetts

A list of the contested legislative races throughout Massachusetts that will be decided this Election Day. Many of the races are long-shot challenges to incumbents.

Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden District:

Cape and Islands District:

Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth District:

2nd Essex and Middlesex District:

L’Italien is looking for her second Senate term. The former state representative staged a comeback in 2014, winning the open Senate seat, 53 to 47 percent.

1st Hampden and Hampshire District:

Lesser is seeking his second term. He was first elected in 2014, emerging from a three-way election with 50.4 percent of the vote.

Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester District:

Senate President Stan Rosenberg is looking for his 14th term in the Senate. He was first elected to the Senate in a 1991 special election to replace Sen. John Olver, who had been elected to Congress. Rosenberg has mostly run unopposed except for challenges in 1992 (80-20 percent); 2000 (89-11 percent); 2004 (84-16 percent); 2006 (85-15 percent); and 2008 (84-16 percent).

5th Middlesex District:

Lewis is looking for his second full-term in the Senate. He was first elected in a special election in 2014 to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Katherine Clark, who had been elected to the U.S. Congress. Lewis easily won re-election in the 2014 general election, beating challenger Monica Medeiros, 57-43 percent.

Middlesex and Worcester District:

Eldridge is seeking his fifth term in the Senate. He was first elected in 2008, easily beating Republican Steven Levy, 57-43 percent. He beat Republican George Thompson by the same margin two years later, and expanded his lead in 2012, beating Republican Dean Cavaretta, 65-35 percent. Eldridge was unopposed in 2014.

Norfolk and Plymouth District:

Keenan is looking for his fourth Senate term. First elected in 2010, Keenan beat two candidates with 56 percent of the vote. He was unopposed in 2012, and easily beat back a challenge by Republican Les Gosule in 2014, 66-34 percent.

1st Plymouth and Bristol District:

Pacheco is vying for his 13th Senate term. He won his first Senate term in 1992, by beating his Republican opponent, 55-45 percent. He was unopposed in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2012. He fielded challenges in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2010 and 2014, the narrowest margin being 2010 when he beat Republican David Pottier, 58-42 percent. His widest margins of victory were in 2000 and 2004 when he garnered 74 percent of the vote against Republican challengers.

2nd Worcester District:

Moore is looking for his fifth term. He was first elected in 2008 with 60 percent of the vote over two opponents. He has been unopposed in all other elections, except the 2012 race, when he beat Republican challenger Stephen Simonian, 68-32 percent.

Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex District:

Gobi is looking for her second term in the Senate. She narrowly won the open seat in 2014 when she narrowly beat Republican Michael Valanzola by 398 votes.

2nd Hampden and Hampshire District:

Humason is looking for his second full Senate term. He was first elected in a special election in 2013 beating David Bartley 53-47 percent. He beat Democratic challenger Patrick Leahy, 57-43 percent.

Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex District:

Ross is seeking his fourth full term in office. He beat Democrat Peter Smulowitz 62-38 percent in a special election in 2010 to fill out the unfinished term of Scott Brown. He was unopposed in the 2010 and 2012 general elections, and easily beat Democratic challenger Dylan Hayre 61-39 percent.

Plymouth and Norfolk District:

Freshman Sen. O’Connor has only been in office a few months, having won a special election this May to fill out the term of Robert Hedlund who resigned to become the mayor of Weymouth.

2nd Barnstable District:

Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket District:

7th Middlesex District:

3rd Plymouth District:

10th Worcester District:

4th Worcester District:

3rd Berkshire District:

Bouvier is seeking her fourth term in office. First elected in a special election in 2011, beating three opponents. She ran unopposed in 2014 and 2012.

6th Essex District:

Parisella is seeking his fourth term. First elected by a wide margin (60-40 percent) in 2010, he ran unopposed in 2012, and won by a wide margin (74-26 percent) over an unenrolled challenger.

15th Essex District:

Linda Dean Campbell is seeking her sixth term. First elected in 2006 with 60 percent of the vote over two opponents. She handily beat a single opponent in 2008, garnered 52 percent of the vote against three challengers in 2010, was unopposed in 2012 and beat a single Republican challenger, Al DiNuccio, 57-43 percent.

9th Hampden District:

Tosado is looking for his second term. He beat Robert Underwood in 2014 78-21 percent.

4th Middlesex District:

Gregoire is seeking her fourth term. First elected in 2008, beating two opponents with only 48 percent of the vote. She lost her first re-election bid in 2010 by 100 votes against challenger Steven Levy. Gregoire regained her seat two years later, beating Levy by 214 votes. She narrowly hung onto her seat in 2014, beating two challengers with only 50 percent of the vote.

9th Middlesex District:

Stanley is seeking his eighth term. First elected in 2000 with 57 percent of the vote over 2 candidates. He was unopposed in 2002, and beat two opponents including Green Rainbow Party candidate Jill Stein in 2004. Stanley ran unopposed in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012, and easily defeated a single candidate in 2014.

14th Middlesex District:

Atkins is seeking her 10th term. She first won a special election in 1999, beating Acton Republican Dean Cavaretta 55-45 percent. She was unopposed in 2000, and beat a single challenger in 2002 59-41 percent. She beat a single challenger in 2004, 60-40 percent. She was unopposed in 2006. She had single opponents in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014, beating her final challenger 75-25 percent.

18th Middlesex District:

Mom is seeking his second term. He beat one opponent in the 2014 general election. He did face two opponents in the 2016 primary, but won with 51 perent of the vote.

21st Middlesex District:

Gordon is looking for his third term. He was first elected in 2012, beating a single opponent 55-45 percent. He beat Paul Girouard in 2014, 52-48 percent.

27th Middlesex District:

Provost is seeking her seventh term. She won a special Democratic primary in 2006 and was unopposed in every election until 2012, when she faced a challenge in the Democratic primary, but beat her opponent, 87-13 percent. Provost faced an opponent from the Pirate Party in the general election in 2014, but won 88-12 percent.

31st Middlesex District:

Day is seeking his second term. He was first elected in 2014, beating Republican Caroline Colarusso 51-49 percent.

12th Norfolk District:

Rogers is seeking his 13th term. He was first elected to an open seat in 1992, beating his Republican opponent easily, 65-35 percent. He was unopposed until 2010 with the exception of a primary challenge in 2006, which he easily on with 72 percent of the vote. In 2010, 2012 and 2014 he beat back Republican challengers, including Tim Hempton in 2014, 58-42 percent.

4th Plymouth District:

Cantwell is seeking his fifth term in office. He was first elected in 2008 when he beat an unenrolled challenger 62-38 percent. He was unopposed in 2010 and faced token Republican challenges in 2012 (68-32 percent) and 2014 (59-41 percent).

6th Plymouth District:

Cutler is looking for his third term. He was narrowly defeated in his first bid for the seat in 2010, losing to incumbent Republican Daniel Webster. Cutler came back two years later in 2012 and beat Republican Karen Barry 55-45 percent. The margin was slightly closer in 2014 when he beat Joseph Sheehan 54-46 percent.

9th Plymouth District:

Gerry Cassidy is looking for his first full term. He emerged from a three-way special Democratic primary earlier this year to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Rep. Mike Brady, who had been elected to the state Senate. He ran unopposed in the special general election.

12th Plymouth District:

Calter is seeking his sixth term. He was first elected in 2006, gaining an open seat by a mere 290 votes. He was unopposed in 2008 and again in 2014, but faced Republican challengers in 2010 and 2012, winning with 55 percent and 62 percent, respectively.

5th Suffolk District:

Carvalho is running for his second full term. He was first elected in a special election in 2014 to fill out the term of convicted state Rep. Carlos Henriquez, who was the first house member to be expelled from office since 1916. He easily won the general election in November of 2014, beating Republican challenger Claudette Joseph, 88-11 percent.

This year, he’s running against perennial candidate, Garrison, who has run for the seat several times as both a Democrat and a Republican. She actually held the seat as a Democrat for a single term in 1993 and 1994.

11th Suffolk District:

Malia is looking for her 10th term. She was first elected in a special election in 1998 and was mostly unopposed over the past 12 years. She faced a primary challenge in September from Charles Clemons, Jr. and beat him handily 71-29 percent.

12th Worcester District:

Naughton is seeking his 12th term in office. He was first elected in 1994, narrowly defeating Republican Michael Ward by only 279 votes. He was unopposed in 1996 and easily re-elected with 87 percent of the vote in 1998.

He faced token challenges in 2000, 2002 and 2004 and was unopposed in the general elections of 2006 and 2008. He garnered 61 percent of the vote over a Republican challenger in 2010, was unopposed again in 2012 and faced his toughest general election contest in 2014, defeating his Republican challenger 55-45 percent.

15th Worcester District:

Keefe hopes to win her third term. She easily won her first race in 2012, 75-25 percent. She was unopposed in 2014.

16th Worcester District:

Donahue is looking for his second full term. He was first elected in a special election in 2013 to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Fresolo. Donahue beat four Democratic opponents in the special primary, besting the field with 27 percent of the vote. He easily won the special general election beating his Republican opponent Carol Claros 64-36 percent. Donahue defeated a single primary challenger in 2014, 53-48 percent.

Fresolo is trying to re-capture the seat he was forced to resign three years ago. He staged a write-in campaign to garner the nomination for the United Independent Party, even though the UIP has disavowed his candidacy.

3rd Barnstable District:

Vieira is seeking his fourth term. He was first elected in 2010, part of the Republican wave that swelled the GOP ranks in the house by beating Democratic incumbent Matt Patrick, 54-46 percent; Vieira was unopposed in both 2012 and 2014. Patrick is trying to mount a comeback, and recapture his former seat this November.

1st Bristol District:

Barrows is looking for his sixth term. He first won the open seat in 2006, narrowly defeating Democratic candidate Claire Naughton by 320 votes. Barrows easily beat back a Democratic challenge in 2008, and has run unopposed ever since.

3rd Bristol District:

O’Connell is seeking her fourth term. She was also part of the 2010 Republican legislative wave. She beat Democratic incumbent James Fagan by only 31 votes. O’Connell cruised to re-election in 2012 beating a Democratic challenger 56-44 percent. She won by an even wider margin in 2014, 61-39 percent.

4th Bristol District:

Howitt is looking for his fourth term. After trying to gain the seat in 2004 and 2006, he finally got in as part of the 2010 Republican legislative wave, beating incumbent Democrat Steven D’Amico 54-46 percent. Howitt easily beat back a Democratic challenger in 2012, 61-39 percent and ran unopposed in 2014.

14th Bristol District:

Poirier is seeking her 10th term. She was first was elected in June of 1999 when she won a special election to succeed her husband, Kevin Poirier, who resigned to take a job as an administrator at Sturdy Memorial Hospital. He had held the seat from 1977-1999. Elizabeth Poirier easily won re-election in 2000 against a Democratic challenger, 65-35 percent. She has only had one challenge since then, in 2004, where she beat the Democratic candidate by the same margin as she did four years before, 65-35 percent.

Dubuc owns a hair salon in Attleborough and describes himself as a conservative on fiscal issues and a liberal on social issues.

1st Essex District:

Kelcourse is looking for his second term. The freshman representative was first elected to an open seat in 2014 in what was the tightest legislative race in the state. He beat Democrat Edward Cameron by a mere 10 votes. The 1st Essex District had been held by a Democrat since 2001.

9th Essex District:

Wong is seeking his fourth term. He was first elected as part of the 2010 Republican wave, beating Democratic incumbent Mark Falzone, who held the seat since 2001. Wong was unopposed in 2012, and easily beat back a Democratic challenge by Christopher Finn in 2014, 61-39 percent.

18th Essex District:

Lyons is seeking his fourth term. Lyons is another member who was part of the 2010 Republican wave. He ousted Democratic incumbent Barbara L’Italien (who has since been elected to the state Senate) 53-47 percent. Lyons and L’Italien squared off in a rematch two years later, and Lyons held on to the seat 51-49 percent. Lyons ran unopposed in 2014.

3rd Hampden District:

Boldyga is looking to win his fourth term. He defeated two-term incumbent Democrat Rosemary Sandlin by only 98 votes in a tight three-way race as part of the Republican wave of 2010. Boldyga beat back Democratic challengers in both 2012 (61-39 percent) and again in 2014 (68-32 percent).

1st Middlesex District:

Harrington is trying for her fourth term. While Harrington was part of the 2010 Republican wave, the 1st Middlesex has traditionally been a safe Republican district for 32 years. Harrington won the open seat in 2010, comfortably beating Democratic candidate Jesse Reich, 62-38 percent. She was unopposed in 2012, and again, soundly beat a Democratic challenger 64-36 percent in 2014.

21st Middlesex District:

Lombardo is vying for his fourth term. He flipped the open seat during the Republican wave of 2010, coming out on top of a four-way general election with slightly more than 50 percent of the vote. He easily beat an unenrolled challenger in 2012, 61-39 percent, and a write-in candidate in 2014, 96-3 percent.

9th Norfolk District:

Dooley is looking for his second full term. He was first elected with 61 percent of the vote in a three-way special election in early 2014 to fill out the unexpired term of Dan Winslow. He was unopposed a few months later in the 2014 general election.

1st Plymouth District:

Muratore is looking for his second term representing this traditionally Republican district. He easily won his first election in 2014 against Democrat Stephen Palmer, 60-40 percent.

2nd Plymouth District:

Williams Gifford is looking for her seventh term in office. She was first elected to the open seat in 2002 by emerging from a three-way primary to narrowly beat her Democratic opponent, 52-48 percent. She won a tight race for re-election in 2004, beating her Democratic challenger by the same 52-48 percent margin. She had challenges again in 2006, 57-43 percent, and again in 2010, 66-34 percent. She was unopposed in 2008, 2012 and 2014.

5th Plymouth District:

DeCoste is looking for his second term. He emerged from a tight Republican primary in 2014 and went on to defeat two-term Democratic incumbent, Rhonda Nyman by only 49 votes.

7th Worcester District:

Muratore is looking for his second term representing this traditionally Republican district. He easily won his first election in 2014 against Democrat Stephen Palmer, 60-40 percent.

17th Worcester District:

Campanale is looking for her second term. She came to the Legislature after winning an open seat in an extremely close race, beating Democrat Douglas Balanger by only 43 votes.

Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version misidentified where Matthew Meneghini is from. We regret the error.