You did it, Massachusetts!
On Tuesday, voters showed up at the polls and backed climate champions. We’ve always believed that solving our biggest environmental challenges requires strong environmental leaders in office, and this Primary was a great day for Clean Water Action.
Out of the 16 candidates we endorsed before the Primary election, 12 are moving forward to the general election. And remember: the General Election is less than 2 months away. Mark your calendar for November 3 and make a plan to vote!
Here is a rundown of our endorsed candidates:
STATEWIDE RACES:
United States Senate: Senator Ed Markey, Green New Deal author and longtime climate champion, handily defeated his challenger and will go on to face his general election opponents.
United States House of Representatives:
District 6: State Representative Tram Nguyen lost to Dan Koh; while Nguyen brought a strong climate and environmental justice record to the race, Koh now moves forward as the Democratic nominee to face a Republican in the general election.
District 9: Congressman Bill Keating, a longtime champion for coastal restoration, won his primary and will continue fighting for the Cape and South Coast’s vulnerable coastal communities.
MA STATE LEGISLATURE RACES:
Massachusetts State Senate:
1st Suffolk: Latoya Gayle lost to Senator Nick Collins. Her campaign helped elevate affordable clean energy, clean air and water protections, and opposition to unnecessary gas pipeline expansion in the district.
2nd Middlesex: Representative Christine Barber came in second to Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven. Rep. Barber has a fierce environmental record and was the lead sponsor of CWA’s Air Quality legislation, and we will dearly miss her voice in the legislature. We do believe that Rep. Uyterhoeven will be a strong environmental legislator as well and look forward to working with her.
5th Middlesex: Carey McDonald lost to Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian after running a campaign centered on clean energy, PFAS restrictions, lead service line replacement, as well as climate resilience. As a legislator, Rep. Lipper-Garabedian has a good environmental track record that we believe she will advance as the presumptive senator-elect.
Massachusetts State House of Representatives:
2nd Bristol: Representative Jim Hawkins was uncontested in the primary and now advances to a general election fight after helping pass landmark PFAS protections for firefighters and public health.
3rd Bristol: Representative Lisa Field won her primary and will bring a strong commitment to PFAS protections for firefighters, and a cleaner, more equitable future into the general election against a Republican opponent.
16th Essex: Celina Reyes won her primary and will continue advancing environmental justice, Merrimack River protections, community preparedness for extreme heat, flooding, and other climate impacts. With no expected general election opponent, she is the presumptive representative-elect.
12th Hampden: Representative Angelo Puppolo Jr. won his primary and will continue his long record of public health and environmental protection, including work to reduce toxic chemical exposures for first responders.
1st Middlesex: Representative Margaret Scarsdale advances to the general election against opponent Christopher Lyons, carrying forward her leadership on pollinator habitat and natural resource protection.
16th Middlesex: Lorena Betts won her primary after campaigning to expand weatherization and community solar, clean up local waterways, lower pollution and utility costs for working families. She now faces a general election opponent.
17th Middlesex: John Drinkwater won his primary and brings deep labor and environmental advocacy experience as the presumptive representative-elect, including support for clean energy workforce standards and stronger pollution protections.
25th Middlesex: Representative Marjorie Decker won her primary. With no general election opponent, she will continue her work on Beacon Hill assisting MA’s just transition for utility workers to clean energy jobs, and securing passage of PFAS legislation. She is among Clean Water Action's top allies in the legislature, having played roles of consequence on nearly all of our priority bills, and we are deeply grateful to our members in Cambridge who have supported her.
32nd Middlesex: Leila Migliorelli won her primary and will bring her case for responsible environmental leadership to the State House as the presumptive representative-elect.
6th Norfolk: Lisa Lopez won her 3-candidate primary after championing cleaner, more affordable electricity through Canton Electrical Choice and pledging to take Massachusetts’ climate obligations seriously on Beacon Hill.
Paid for and authorized by Clean Water Action for distribution to its members. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contact us at cleanwateraction.org.