Michelle Badger
2025 - Present
2027
0
Michelle Badger (Democratic Party) is a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 1st Plymouth District. She assumed office on January 1, 2025. Her current term ends on January 6, 2027.
Badger (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives to represent the 1st Plymouth District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Badger completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Michelle Badger earned a high school diploma from Plymouth South High School, a bachelor's degree from Sweet Briar College in 2006, and a graduate degree from Suffolk University in 2010. Her career experience includes working in higher education administration.[1]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: Massachusetts House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Plymouth District
Michelle Badger defeated Jesse Brown in the general election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Plymouth District on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Michelle Badger (D)  | 52.2 | 15,277 |
 | Jesse Brown (R) | 47.7 | 13,952 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 11 | ||
| Total votes: 29,240 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Plymouth District
Michelle Badger defeated Arthur Desloges, Stephen Michael Palmer, and Scott Hokanson in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Plymouth District on September 3, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michelle Badger | 42.1 | 2,621 |
 | Arthur Desloges | 33.9 | 2,111 | |
 | Stephen Michael Palmer | 15.3 | 951 | |
 | Scott Hokanson | 8.7 | 545 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 4 | ||
| Total votes: 6,232 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Plymouth District
Jesse Brown defeated Dee Spencer in the Republican primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Plymouth District on September 3, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jesse Brown | 52.4 | 2,241 |
| Dee Spencer | 47.4 | 2,027 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 8 | ||
| Total votes: 4,276 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Badger in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michelle Badger completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Badger's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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She returned to Plymouth in 2008 and began to get involved in the community and in 2011 ran for School Committee and has now won five town-wide elections for Plymouth School Committee, where she currently serves as Chair. During her tenure Michelle has participated in the construction of two acclaimed high schools, the implementation of a district wide solar plan, full-day kindergarten, improved curriculum offerings to name a few.
Michelle is active in numerous organization including the Plymouth No Place for Hate Committee, Fragment Society, Pilgrim Area Collaborative and co-chairing the Sweet Briar College Alumnae Alliance Council.
Michelle was recognized as a 40 under 40 Award recipient from the Cape & Plymouth Business Media recognizing industry excellence and dynamic leadership. In 2022-2023 she participated inLeadership South Shore program receiving transformative leadership training tackling current issues facing the South Shore.
She currently serves as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Massasoit Community College and before that worked at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. She is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).- Growing up in Plymouth to middle-class parents and experiencing the challenges of student loans, I understand the critical need for affordability. Plymouth must remain accessible for all residents. I will advocate for legislation that expands housing options, keeping our community vibrant and welcoming. Supporting initiatives that address our housing crisis and enable residents of all ages to stay and thrive in their homes and in the community they love. Creative solutions are essential for our community's future.
- I plan to advocate for resources for schools, seniors, veterans, public safety, the environment, transportation, mental health, and other community needs. All to ensure that our community has the support it needs to continue to be responsive to the needs of the residents.
- Work with community leaders to foster sustainable economic development in Plymouth. Plymouth is a vibrant community, and we aim to enhance opportunities for residents to live, work, and enjoy their time here. To achieve this, we need to explore strategies that can bring business/industry into our community and other ways to alleviate the tax burden on homeowners, making the community more accessible and attractive to
First and foremost is legislation. This involves drafting, proposing, debating, and voting on laws that address the needs and concerns of their district. To be effective, state representatives must understand the issues at hand and advocate for or against specific legislation.
Another critical responsibility is representing their district. A state representative should act as a voice for their constituents, ensuring their needs and interests are addressed. This requires a deep understanding of the issues that matter to their district.
In addition to representation, providing constituent services is vital. Representatives help residents navigate state government, provide information, and resolve issues related to state services and programs. Being accessible is crucial for building strong relationships and trust with constituents.
Community engagement is also essential. Open lines of communication through public events and gatherings—both hosted by the state representative and those organized by the community—help them stay informed about the district's needs and identify areas for advocacy.
Finally, involvement in the budget process is important. State representatives must advocate for funding for programs and services that benefit their district and collaborate with other legislators to ensure effective budget outcomes.
Having prior experience also provides a deeper understanding about the community they are serve from the issues to the needs of their constituents. It also helps with the building of relationships with other officials, constituents, and advocacy groups. Ultimately, it is important to have a combination of experience, passion, and a commitment to understanding the community to be as efficient and effective as possible.
Transparency is essential because it allows citizens to stay informed about budget allocations, expenditures, and the overall financial health of their government. Also being transparent ensures that money is spent responsibly and keeps people engaged in the process. This also can lead to more informed citizens who become more engages and share their input with their representatives. Transparency and accountability build trust and strengthens our democracy when more people are part of the process. It is important for a health society.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Massachusetts scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Plymouth District |
Officeholder Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Plymouth District |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 31, 2024
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mathew Muratore (R) |
Massachusetts House of Representatives 1st Plymouth District 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Plymouth School Committee 2011 |
Succeeded by - |
