Massachusetts
Massachusetts Republicans celebrate gains made across the state and look forward to 2026
BOSTON – The Republican Party in Massachusetts has struggled in the state for years but after this Election Day, they’re celebrating some gains they made throughout the Bay State.
GOP makes gains
Kelly Garrity of Politico, author of the daily Massachusetts Playbook, says Massachusetts Republicans are “very excited” about the vote, in which their long-struggling party flipped several seats in the House and won an open Senate seat in Southeastern Massachusetts that had been held by Democrats for decades.
Those gains – combined with an unusually strong 40% showing by GOP Senate nominee John Deaton in a loss to Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the rebuke to the Democrat-dominated Legislature of Question 1, which called for broader audit powers over the House and Senate, give the local GOP something to “seize on” as they head into 2026, a re-election year for Gov. Maura Healey, said Garrity.
“I think the Governor has had a lot of challenges that are out of her control her first term,” she says. “Obviously, cost of housing is very high in Massachusetts. And the economy – it seems, nationwide – is really important to voters. There’s also the migrant crisis, again another problem that is largely out of the governor’s control, but whether or not voters will be willing to take that out on the incumbent. The governor hasn’t said if she does intend to run again; I think it’s largely expected at this point that she will.”
Rockier times ahead?
After a stretch where the Legislature’s approval ratings have been relatively healthy in polls, rockier times may be ahead. “I think after this …. the end of the legislative session, when there’s a lot of bills still tied up in Beacon Hill, I think that definitely caught some people’s attention,” says Garrity. “They’re still waiting on an economic development bill to pass. And I do think that, especially when it comes to question one, the question for voters was, ‘Do you want more transparency?’ or that’s what it appeared to be for voters. And I think that, for most people, was a pretty easy yes.”
Garrity also discussed the landslide victory for the Massachusetts Teachers Association on Question 2, dropping a passing score on the MCAS as a statewide high-school graduation requirement. “Voters did decide pretty overwhelmingly to vote yes on that one as well, despite opposition from all of the big power players on Beacon Hill,” she notes.
Massachusetts
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Massachusetts
Dangerousness hearing held for Taunton man in Fall River after Massachusetts, Rhode Island State Police make trafficking arrest involving Bristol, Plymouth, RI counties
A dangerousness hearing was held Friday for a Bristol County man after a drug trafficking investigation led to his arrest.
According to Massachusetts State Police, during May and June of this year, members of the Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team – South initiated an investigation into narcotics trafficking. Intelligence revealed that 33-year-old Jason Hodo of Taunton was distributing trafficking quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in Rhode Island and throughout Plymouth and Bristol Counties in Massachusetts. Investigators completed extensive traditional and covert surveillance, record checks, and intelligence analysis. The investigation led to warrants being sought and granted to search for all controlled substances at all locations related to Hodo.
In June, executing officers followed Hodo in his vehicle after he departed the Rhode Island location and drove to a Taunton gas station. Hodo was detained, searched, and arrested after amounts of fentanyl and cocaine were located. Members then executed the “knock and announce” search warrants without incident at locations in both states.
The searches in Massachusetts led to the seizure of approximately 528 grams of fentanyl, 206 grams of cocaine, and nearly $22,000 from Hodo’s person and vehicle. Hodo was eventually transported to State Police-Middleboro for booking on charges related to Trafficking Class A and Class B Substances.
A simultaneous search of the Rhode Island location by Rhode Island State Police revealed the following: two firearms loaded with high-capacity magazines, approximately 12 grams of fentanyl, nearly $19,000, several high value bars of gold, jewelry, and a diamond/gold chain with receipt for $103,000.
Previously in Fall River Superior Court, Hodo pled not guilty at his arraignment and was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Friday.
On Friday, also in Fall River Superior Court, dangerousness was taken under advisement with Hodo still held without bail.
His next scheduled court appearance is a pre-trial conference in February.
Massachusetts
Mass. State Lottery winner: Lucky store sold 6 winning tickets Friday
It was the final day of the fall, but for one store in Arlington, it was their luckiest day of the year.
On Friday, Dec. 20, Peter Pan Superette in Arlington sold six winning Keno tickets, each worth $9,600.
While over the course of the year the store has at times sold two winners in one day, Friday was the only time in 2024 the total grew to six.
Overall, at least 565 worth $600 or more were won or claimed in Massachusetts on Friday, including six in Springfield, 29 in Worcester and 42 in Boston.
The Massachusetts State Lottery releases a full list of winning tickets every day. The list only includes winning tickets worth more than $600.
So far, the largest lottery prize won in Massachusetts this year was worth $1 million a year for life.
The prize was from the lottery’s “Lifetime Millions” scratch ticket game. The winner claimed their prize through a trust on July 10, and opted to receive a one-time payment of $15.4 million.
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