Pols & Politics: Three Massachusetts House races that offer glimmers of competition

Massachusetts voters are closing in fast on this year’s primary and general elections and many residents have intense local races right in their backyard — from incumbent Democrats facing challengers with money to open seats drawing fierce competition.

Beacon Hill is well-known for lawmakers across the board gliding to re-election every two years. But in a state rife with non-competitive races, there are glimmers of hope this year that elections in Massachusetts can be more than just resigning oneself to voting for the only person on the ballot.

The state primaries are on Sept. 3 and the general election is on Nov. 5, the same day voters head to the polls to pick the next president of the United States.

With the days ticking down, here are a few House races across the state that caught our eye.

1st Plymouth

Rep. Matt Muratore’s decision to pursue an open state Senate seat has set off a mad dash in this South Shore district that covers portions of Plymouth, a town that has consistently sent a Republican to the State House for the last two decades.

Four Democrats and two Republicans have decided to throw their hat into the ring this election cycle.

Plymouth School Committee Chair Michelle Badger, Beacon Hill regular Art Desloges, local businessman Scott Hokanson, and Stephen Palmer, a former member of the Braintree Town Meeting, make up the left.

Dee Wallace Spencer, a business professor at Northeastern University, and Marine Corps veteran Jesse Brown round out the Republican primary ticket.

Spencer has dominated the fundraising game so far, raising more than $68,000 since the start of the year, spending upwards of $34,000 during the same period, and holding onto $34,000-plus as of July 31, according to campaign finance records.

Brown has raised $29,315 between the start of January and the end of July, state data shows.

Desloges has raised $24,224 since January and Badger has brought in $16,557 during the same time, according to state records. Both Palmer, who unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2022 and 2020, and Hokanson have raised $8,000 or less this year.

27th Middlesex

Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven has not faced an opponent in her past two general elections and easily beat Democratic challengers in her previous primary contests.

But this year, a former Beacon Hill chief of staff is making a well-funded play at unseating the second-term Somerville Democrat.

Kathleen Hornby, who worked for Public Health Committee Chair Rep. Marjorie Decker for almost three years, has outraised Uyterhoeven since the start of the year, according to campaign finance filings last updated July 31.

Hornby, who also worked for former Rep. Alice Wolf for nearly five years, points to affordability in Somerville, substance use, public transportation, workers’ rights, and climate change as some of her top issues, according to her website.

Uyterhoeven said she “acted swiftly” with other colleagues in the Legislature to ensure access to reproductive rights after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. Uyterhoeven also touches on transportation, public education, and affordable housing on her campaign website.

And speaking of Decker, the six-term Democrat from Cambridge is also facing a Democratic primary opponent this year in Evan MacKay. Decker has raised more than $117,000 since January compared to MacKay’s $48,025, according to state data.

12th Middlesex

Nearly $200,000 has poured in since January into a race for a House seat that covers parts of Newton and Brookline after the incumbent Democrat, Rep. Ruth Balser, announced she was not seeking reelection.

That decision has since spurred three Democrats to jump into the fray — Newton City Councilors Bill Humphrey and Rick Lipof and Greg Schwartz, a former city councilor and doctor who has earned Balser’s endorsement.

Lipof has ticked off public education investments, combating antisemitism, and affordability as priorities on his website. Humphrey also turned to the climate, housing, health care, and education as issues he wants to focus on while Schwartz pointed to health care, antisemitism, climate change, housing, and transportation as his priorities.

Each candidate has pulled in tens of thousands.

Lipof is leading the pack with more than $73,000 raised and $39,787 spent since January, according to state campaign finance filings. Schwartz has pulled in $66,274 this year and spent $51,488, state data shows.

Humphrey has raised $31,462 and spent $23,624 this year, according to the data.