Notable Massachusetts races, 2016
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| Notable Massachusetts Races | |
|---|---|
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| Primary | September 8, 2016 |
| General | November 8, 2016 |
| 2016 Notable Races | |
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| Choose a state below: | |
Ballotpedia identified seven notable Massachusetts state legislative races in 2016.
Overview
- Main articles: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2016 and Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2016
All 160 state House seats and all 40 state Senate seats were up for election in 2016.
| Partisan breakdown of the Massachusetts Legislature | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Republicans | Democrats | Vacancies |
| Massachusetts House | 34 seats | 125 seats | 1 seat |
| Massachusetts Senate | 6 seats | 34 seats | 0 seats |
Democrats gained a state government trifecta in the 2006 election but lost it in 2014 when Gov. Charlie Baker (R) won the governorship. The state continued to have divided government following the November election. Baker was not up for election in 2016, and Republicans would have had to gain 47 seats to win a majority in the House and 15 seats to win a majority in the Senate.
Republicans targeted open seats vacated by Democratic incumbents in three legislative districts: the Second Barnstable House District, Seventh Middlesex House District, and the Cape & Islands Senate District.[1][2] They also targeted sitting Democratic lawmakers in the Eighteenth Middlesex House District, the First Hampden & Hampshire Senate District, and the Second Essex & Middlesex Senate District.[1][2] The First Hampden & Hampshire District race featured a rerun of a 2014 candidate matchup.[1][2] The Republican incumbent in the Plymouth & Norfolk Senate District, who won his seat in a May 2016 special election, faced both primary and general election challenges in his bid for election to a full term.[1][2]
What makes a race notable?
Ballotpedia uses these criteria to identify notable races:
- Incumbents facing more conservative or liberal challengers
- Rematches between candidates
- Races that receive considerable media attention
- Races that could significantly affect the state's partisan balance
- Competitive races involving party leaders
- Open, competitive races with Republican and Democratic primaries
- Races that capture money and attention from outside groups, including key endorsements
Know of an interesting race we should include here? Email us!
Notable primary elections
Plymouth & Norfolk Senate District - Republican primary
| The newly elected Republican incumbent faced challenges in both the primary and the general election. |
Sen. Patrick O'Connor (R) won his Plymouth & Norfolk Senate District seat in a special election in May 2016.[3] He faced competition in both the primary and general elections in his bid for election to a full term in 2016.[1] Stephen Gill challenged O'Connor in the GOP primary.[1] The winner of that contest faced the winner of the Democratic primary between Brian Richard Cook and Joan Meschino.[1]
| Massachusetts State Senate, Plymouth & Norfolk District Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Patrick O'Connor Incumbent | |
| Republican | Stephen Gill | |
Notable general elections
Second Barnstable House District - General election
| A Republican candidate targeted the open seat vacated by a Democratic incumbent. |
William L. Crocker, Jr. (R) defeated Aaron S. Kanzer (D) in the November 2016 general election.[4]
Rep. Brian Mannal (D) did not run for re-election to his Second Barnstable House District seat in 2016.[1][2] Republicans viewed the open seat as a possible pickup opportunity.[2] GOP candidate William Crocker faced the winner of the two-way Democratic primary between Aaron Kanzer and Margaret Weber.[1]
Seventh Middlesex House District - General election
| Three Republican candidates targeted the open seat vacated by a Democratic incumbent. |
Jack Patrick Lewis (D) defeated Yolanda Greaves (R) in the November 2016 general election.[4]
Rep. Tom Sannicandro (D) did not run for re-election to his Seventh Middlesex House District seat in 2016.[1][2] Republicans viewed the open seat as a possible pickup opportunity.[2] GOP candidate Yolanda Greaves faced the winner of the three-way Democratic primary between Philip Jack, Jack Patrick Lewis, and Brett Walker.[1]
Eighteenth Middlesex House District - General election
| A Republican candidate targeted the freshman Democratic incumbent. |
Republican candidate Kamara Kay was defeated by Rep. Rady Mom (D) in the Eighteenth Middlesex House District general election.[4][1][2] Mom also faced two challengers—Cheth Khim and David Ouellette—in the Democratic primary.[1] The Eighteenth Middlesex District includes one of the largest Cambodian American communities in the country, and Kay and Mom are both Cambodian American.[5] The two candidates offered different perspectives on the Cambodian regime following a May 2016 visit to the district from the Cambodian prime minister's son, Hun Manet.[5]
Cape & Islands Senate District - General election
| Two Republican candidates targeted the open seat vacated by a Democratic incumbent. |
Julian Andre Cyr (D) defeated Anthony E. Schiavi (R) in the November 2016 general election.[4]
Sen. Dan Wolf (D) did not run for re-election to his Cape & Islands Senate District seat in 2016.[1][2] Republicans viewed the open seat as a possible pickup opportunity.[2][6] Republican candidates James Crocker Jr. and Anthony Schiavi competed for the opportunity to claim the seat for the GOP in November.[1] The winner of that contest faced the winner of the two-way Democratic primary between Julian Andre Cyr and Sheila Lyons.[1] Outgoing Rep. Brian Mannal (D) also filed to run for the seat but dropped out of the race in June 2016.[1][6]
First Hampden & Hampshire Senate District - General election
| A Republican candidate challenged the Democratic incumbent to a rematch. |
Eric Lesser (D) defeated Chip Harrington (R) in the November 2016 general election.[4]
Sen. Eric Lesser (D) faced a rematch against Democrat-turned-Republican Chip Harrington (R) in the First Hampden & Hampshire Senate District.[1][7] Lesser defeated a crowded field of candidates, including Harrington, to win the Democratic nomination in the district in 2014.[8] Following Harrington's switch to the GOP in February 2016, the two candidates faced off in the general election in 2016.[1][9] Lesser and Harrington both ran unopposed in their respective primaries.[1]
Second Essex & Middlesex Senate District - General election
| A Republican candidate targeted the Democratic incumbent. |
Barbara L'Italien (D) defeated Susan LaPlante in the November 2016 general election.[4]
Republican candidate Susan LaPlante challenged Sen. Barbara L'Italien (D) in the Second Essex & Middlesex District.[1][2] L'Italien faced questions in 2016 about connections between contributions she received from a political action committee associated with retired municipal workers and her support for a moratorium on health insurance premium increases for retirees.[10] L'Italien and LaPlante both ran unopposed in their respective primaries.[1]
Freshman legislators
The following is a list of challengers who won election on November 8.
- Adam G. Hinds (Democratic), .Massachusetts State Senate, Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden District
- Brian W. Murray (Democratic), .Massachusetts House of Representatives, Tenth Worcester District
- Bud L. Williams (Democratic), .Massachusetts House of Representatives, Eleventh Hampden District
- Chynah Tyler (Democratic), .Massachusetts House of Representatives, Seventh Suffolk District
- Dylan A. Fernandes (Democratic), .Massachusetts House of Representatives, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket District
- Jack Patrick Lewis (Democratic), .Massachusetts House of Representatives, Seventh Middlesex District
- Joan Meschino (Democratic), .Massachusetts House of Representatives, Third Plymouth
- Juana B. Matias (Democratic), .Massachusetts House of Representatives, Sixteenth Essex District
- Julian Andre Cyr (Democratic), .Massachusetts State Senate, Cape and Islands District
- Mike Connolly (Massachusetts) (Democratic), .Massachusetts House of Representatives, Twenty-Sixth Middlesex District
- Natalie Higgins (Democratic), .Massachusetts House of Representatives, Fourth Worcester District
- Solomon Goldstein-Rose (Democratic), .Massachusetts House of Representatives, Third Hampshire District
- Walter Timilty (Democratic), .Massachusetts State Senate, Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth District
- William J. Driscoll, Jr. (Democratic), .Massachusetts House of Representatives, Seventh Norfolk District
- William L. Crocker, Jr. (Republican), .Massachusetts House of Representatives, Second Barnstable District
Defeated incumbents
The following is a list of incumbents who were defeated on November 8.Results will be added as they are updated.
See also
- Massachusetts House of Representatives
- Massachusetts State Senate
- Massachusetts General Court
- State legislative elections, 2016
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "2016 Primary Candidates," accessed August 12, 2016
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 CommonWealth, "Mass GOP to Compete in 40% of Legislative Races," May 5, 2016
- ↑ Weymouth Patch, "Weymouth Town Council President Patrick O'Connor Wins State Senate Election," May 10, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 New York Times, "Massachusetts Election Results," accessed November 15, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 WGBH News, "Cambodian Official's US Visit Triggers an International Incident," May 26, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cape Cod Times, "Political Notes: Cape Races Priority for GOP," May 10, 2016
- ↑ MassLive, "Gov. Charlie Baker Officially Endorses Chip Harrington for State Senate," May 4, 2016
- ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "2014 State Senate 1st Hampden and Hampshire," accessed August 12, 2016
- ↑ MassLive, "Why I Chose to Switch From the Democratic Party to Massachusetts GOP," February 3, 2016
- ↑ The Andover Townsman, "Retiree Donations to L'Italien Called Into Question," June 23, 2016
