Last Saturday I traveled to Springfield for the Massachusetts Democratic State Convention, a decidedly niche event for most readers. However, with no city council meeting this week and with the city’s preliminary election behind us, today’s newsletter will look ahead to next fall’s state election.

Unless you’re obsessed with politics, tracking which offices are on the ballot in which elections can be challenging. Here’s how I do it: City elections are always in odd-numbered years, and state elections are always in even-numbered years. The big offices on the ballot in state elections are president and governor. They are both four-year terms, but they are staggered so if it is a presidential election year, you will not also be voting for governor that same year. However, if it’s an even-numbered year in the middle of the president’s term (as will be the case in November 2026), then the office of governor will be on the ballot.

Also on the ballot next year are the so-called Constitutional offices which are the statewide elected positions created by the Massachusetts State Constitution. These are Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Secretary of State, and State Auditor.

Here’s a quick look at the people who now hold these offices. They are all Democrats and as far as I can tell, they are all running for reelection. Because the age of candidates has become a big issue in our national elections, I have included the year of birth of candidates to the extent I’ve been able to find it.

Governor: Maura Healey (born 1971) was elected governor in 2022, defeating Republican Geoff Diehl, 64% to 35%. She succeeded Governor Charlie Baker who did not run for reelection. Prior to that, Healey served as Attorney General of Massachusetts, having been elected to that office in 2014 and reelected in 2018.

Lieutenant Governor: Kim Driscoll (born 1966) was elected in 2022. In Massachusetts, the governor and lieutenant governor run as a single ticket to prevent a governor from one party having to hold office with a lieutenant governor from another party. Driscoll succeeded Karyn Polito as Lieutenant Governor.  Driscoll was elected Mayor of Salem, Massachusetts, in 2005 and held that office until becoming Lt. Governor.

Attorney General: Andrea Campbell (born 1982) was elected in 2022, defeating Republican James McMahon. Campbell succeeded Maura Healey as AG. Campbell had been elected to the Boston City council in 2015 and served in that office until becoming AG.

State Treasurer: Deb Goldberg (born 1954) was elected State Treasurer in 2014. She defeated Republican Mike Heffernan and succeeded Steve Grossman who ran for Governor that year. Goldberg was reelected in 2018 and 2022 and announced at last week’s convention that she will run again next year.

Secretary of State: William Galvin (born 1950) has served as Secretary of State since 1994 when he defeated Republican Arthur Chase and succeeded Michael Connolly. Galvin has been reelected in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. While he has not yet made a formal announcement that he will run again, it is widely expected that he will.

State Auditor: Diana DiZoglio (born 1983) was elected State Auditor in 2022 when she defeated Republican Anthony Amore and succeeded Suzanne Bump who did not seek reelection. DiZoglio was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate in 2018 and served there until her election as Auditor.

Before moving on to the other offices that will be on next year’s state election ballot, a further word about party conventions (with the caveat that I can only speak about Democratic State Conventions). To appear on the ballot in the Democratic Primary, anyone running for statewide office – those mentioned above plus US Senator – must obtain the requisite number of nomination signatures AND must receive the support of at least 15 percent of the delegates to the Democratic State convention in the year of nomination.

That “15 percent” rule is sometimes called undemocratic, and in a way, it might be, but as a practical matter, if a candidate for statewide office cannot win the support of just 15 percent of the delegates to the party convention, their ability to mount a winning statewide campaign would be questionable.

In my experience at state Democratic conventions, there are two scenarios where a candidate might be deprived of a spot on the primary ballot by this rule. The first is when there are more than three or more candidates for the same office. The more candidates there are, the greater the odds of someone getting less than 15 percent. The other scenario arises when a popular incumbent is seeking reelection but is being challenged by someone who is relatively unknown. In that case, the incumbent and their supporters might push to receive more than 85 percent of the delegates and thereby keep the challenger off the primary election ballot.

Getting back to the offices on the ballot next year, there is another statewide position: US Senator. Unlike President and Governor, Senator is a six-year term so sometimes the office will be on the ballot in a presidential election, other times in a gubernatorial election.

In 2026, incumbent Senator Ed Markey (born 1946) will run for reelection. Markey won a special election in 2013 to fill a vacancy created when John Kerry became Secretary of State. Markey was reelected to the Senate in 2014 and in 2020. Previously Markey served in the US House of Representatives from 1976 until his election to the Senate.

Here are the other offices that will be on the ballot next year (for people living in Lowell). The following offices are all two-year terms, so they are on the ballot in every state election:

US House of Representatives: Lori Trahan (born 1973) was elected to Congress in 2018, defeating Republican Rick Green and succeeding Niki Tsongas who did not seek reelection. This was the first elected office held by Trahan.

Governor’s Council: Eunice Ziegler was elected Governor’s Councillor (District 5) in 2024 (And yes, this office is spelled with two “l’s” unlike the Lowell municipal office which has a single “l”). She succeeded Eileen Duff who was elected Essex South Register of Deeds that year. Ziegler had previously served as a Methuen City Councilor. In Massachusetts, there are eight Governor’s Council districts, so each Councillor represents the equivalent of five state senate districts.

State Senator: Ed Kennedy was elected Senator for the 1st Middlesex District in 2018. He succeeded Eileen Donoghue who left the Senate when she was named Lowell City Manager.

State Representative – 16th Middlesex: Rodney Elliott was elected State Representative in 2022. He succeeded Tom Golden who left the House when he was named Lowell City Manager. Elliott was reelected in 2024.

State Representative – 17th Middlesex: Vanna Howard was elected State Representative in 2020. She defeated incumbent Dave Nangle in the Democratic Primary. Howard was reelected in 2022 and 2024.

State Representative – 18th Middlesex: Tara Hong was elected State Representative in 2024. He defeated incumbent Rady Mom in the Democratic Primary.

Although Middlesex County was abolished as a governmental entity in 1997, it continues as a geographic and electoral boundary. “County” offices like Sheriff, Clerk of Courts, Register of Probate and Register of Deeds appear on the ballot in state elections, however, they are all six-year terms, so their election years vary. One exception is the office of District Attorney which is a four-year term. It is on the ballot in gubernatorial election years (like 2026).

District Attorney: Marian Ryan was elected District Attorney for the Northern District (I’m not sure why it’s called that instead of “Middlesex County”) in 2014. She was reelected in 2018 and 2022. She succeeded Gerard Leone who did not seek reelection.

Register of Probate: Tara Decristofaro was elected Middlesex Register of Probate in 2008. She succeeded John Buonomo, who had been renominated that year but withdrew before the general election after being criminally charged with offenses related to the office. Decristofaro obtained the Democratic nomination in a caucus to fill the vacancy created when Buonomo withdrew. She has been reelected in 2014 and 2020.

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Perhaps the biggest question nationally in next year’s election is which party will control Congress. Although none of the Massachusetts Congressional seats are especially competitive, they will all be on the ballot next fall so let’s review who holds those seats and how they got there:

1st Congressional District: Richard Neal (born 1949) was elected to Congress in 1988. He succeeded Edward Boland. This district includes the western-most part of the state with its most populous communities being Springfield, Chicopee, Westfield and Pittsfield. The current district was formed in 2012 when redistricting cost Massachusetts a Congressional seat. Incumbent John Olver chose not to run for reelection so the district he represented was broken up with most of it merging with the Springfield-based district long represented by Neal.

2nd Congressional District: James McGovern (born 1959) was elected to Congress in 1996. He defeated Republican incumbent Peter Blute. This Central Mass district includes Worcester, Shrewsbury, Northampton, Amherst, Leominster, and Greenfield. Redistricting in 2012 kept Worcester as the base of this district but shifted it north and west.

3rd Congressional District: Lori Trahan, our local member of Congress, was covered above.

4th Congressional District: Jake Auchincloss (born 1988) was elected to Congress in 2020. He succeeded Joseph P. Kennedy III, who ran unsuccessfully against Ed Markey for US Senate that year. This district extends from the western suburbs of Boston to the South Coast and includes Newton, Brookline, Needham, Attleboro, Taunton and Fall River. This district has stayed mostly intact since 1982 when Massachusetts lost a Congressional seat and incumbents Barney Frank and Margaret Heckler faced off with Frank winning.

5th Congressional District: Katherine Clark (born 1963) was elected to Congress in 2013 when she won a special election to succeed Ed Markey who was elected to the US Senate. This district covers the northwest suburbs of Boston including Cambridge, Malden, Medford, Waltham, Woburn and Framingham.

6th Congressional District: Seth Moulton (born 1978) was elected to Congress in 2014 when he defeated incumbent John Tierney in the Democratic Primary. This district is based in the North Shore but extends to the suburbs of Lowell. It includes Lynn, Salem, Peabody, Newburyport, Gloucester, Andover, Wilmington and Tewksbury.

7th Congressional District: Ayanna Pressley (born 1974) was elected to Congress in 2018 when she defeated incumbent Michael Capuano in the Democratic Primary. This district consists of a large portion of Boston plus Somerville, part of Cambridge, and a few smaller communities.

8th Congressional District: Stephen Lynch (born 1955) was elected to Congress in 2001 when he won a special election to succeed Joe Moakley who died in office. The district includes a portion of Boston and many of the southern suburbs including Brockton, Braintree, Quincy and Weymouth.

9th Congressional District: William Keating (born 1952) was elected to Congress in 2010. He succeeded William Delahunt who did not seek reelection. This district includes Cape Cod and the islands plus a dozen South Coast communities including New Bedford, Dartmouth and Bridgewater.

Although she will not be on the ballot in 2026, Elizabeth Warren (born 1949) is our other US Senator. She was elected to that office in 2012 when she defeated incumbent Republican Scott Brown. Warren was reelected in 2018 and 2024, so the Senate seat she holds will next be on the ballot in 2030.

As for the date of next year’s election, the general will be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and the primary may be as early as Tuesday, September 1, 2026, which is a week before Labor Day.

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Upcoming events:

If you’re reading this early today (Sunday, Sept 21), you still have time to get to Lowell Cemetery for my 10 am walking tour. It begins at the Knapp Avenue entrance (near Shedd Park) and will last 90 minutes.

Also, UMass Lowell professor Bob Forrant has a couple of events worth attending:

On Monday, September 22, 2025, at 6 pm at Lowell’s Pollard Memorial Library, Bob will give a talk on the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution and Birthright Citizenship, a legal long-established legal principle now under attack.

On Saturday, September 27, 2025, at 11 am, beginning at the Pollard Memorial Library, Bob will lead a walking tour of downtown that explores the pre-Civil War friction in Lowell between the economic incentive by the cotton mills to remain silent about slavery and the moral wrong that many acknowledged. A highlight of the tour will be seeing two Lowell buildings that are already part of the national Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Trail.

Finally, if you haven’t already seen it, please check out Bernie Zelitch’s article on Katharine Burrage, the first female graduate of Lowell Textile Institute.