Five lawmakers might have spent months thinking they had a casual stroll to reelection this fall, but they will now face major-party opponents after a batch of candidates secured last-minute spots on the ballot.
This includes state Rep. Kristin Kassner, D-Hamilton, who will now face a challenge in November from Mark Tashjian, R-Georgetown.
Half a dozen people received enough write-in signatures in last week’s primary election and filed the necessary paperwork to receive a party’s nomination as senator or representative, Secretary of State William Galvin’s office confirmed, boosting the amount of competition in a cycle where voters in many districts have few choices.
To make the ballot through traditional means, party candidates had to file nomination papers with the secretary of state’s office by May 7, and non-party candidates had until July 30 to do so.
But there’s another route. Candidates who missed the earlier deadline could also earn their party’s nomination by winning the primary as a write-in candidate and securing at least as many write-in votes as the signatures required to make the ballot — 300 for senator, 150 for representative — then submitting a written nomination acceptance and a receipt from the State Ethics Commission.
Forty-two House districts and 12 Senate districts will now feature contested general elections in November as a result of the write-in nominations. That’s an increase over the 39 House Districts and 10 Senate districts that previously forecasted to have actual competition, but still only a shade above one in four out of all 200 legislative seats up for grabs.
In Tashjian’s case, write-in success means the GOP will challenge the Democrat who two years ago won by the narrowest margin possible.
Kassner unseated former Republican Rep. Lenny Mirra, of Georgetown, in 2022 by a single vote after a recount. Mirra raised objections over the recount process, but final authority over seating representatives rests with the House, and legislative leaders followed the recommendations of a Democrat-led panel to declare Kassner the victor.
To secure reelection, Kassner will now need to fend off a challenge from Tashjian, a business owner and member of Georgetown’s Finance Committee. Tashjian also mounted an unsuccessful congressional bid in 2022, as a Libertarian candidate, to unseat Salem Democrat Seth Moulton.
Tashjian touts himself as an entrepreneur and owner of a “successful polo club.” Top issues on his campaign site include shifting some school-related decisions to the “parental or school district level,” incentivizing more middle-income housing, and boosting transparency “on where your tax dollars go.”
Material from the State House News Service was used in this report.