Democrats Hold Majority in Mass. State Legislature

Democrats maintained their majority in the Massachusetts State Legislature on Election Day, despite several tight races.

Before Tuesday’s election, Democrats had held of 126 of 160 state House seats and 34 of 40 state Senate seats. Twenty-five State Senate candidates and 117 State House candidates ran unopposed by a major party candidate, according to the State House News Service.

There were several legislative races in which the margin of victory was less than 20 percent as of press time. In the Cape and Islands Senate District, Democratic Julian A. Cyr defeated Republican Anthony E. Schiavi to earn the State Senate seat vacated by incumbent Democratic Senator Dan Wolf.

Following his victory, Cyr wrote in an emailed statement, “I intend to hold fast to the mantra that has sustained me through my campaign - that what seems impossible can actually be possible… I also want to congratulate each and every candidate in our region who ran a hard fought race.”

In the First Hampden and Hampshire Senate District, Democratic State Senator Eric P. Lesser '07 ran for the second time against Republican James “Chip” Harrington, who switched from Democrat to Republican in February 2016. The victory was called for Lesser, at 56 percent with 91 percent of precincts reporting.

In the 2nd Essex and Middlesex Senate District, Republican Susan M. Laplante challenged the incumbent Democrat Barbara A. L’Italien.