Somerville city councilor Ben Ewen-Campen is running for state representative in the 27th Middlesex district, a seat now held by Erika Uyterhoeven. Ewen-Campen confirmed the run Tuesday after sending an email to friends and family.
There will be a formal announcement in a few days, Ewen-Campen said.
His signal to act, Ewen-Campen said, was Uyterhoeven’s declaration as a candidate for state Senate in the 2nd Middlesex District. She announced Monday that she would run for the Senate to replace Pat Jehlen, who is retiring.
Jehlen’s seat is hotly contested: state representative Christine Barber has also declared, as well as Somerville city councilor Matt McLaughlin and Cambridge vice mayor Burhan Azeem. Another Cambridge resident who has filed with the state to run is Neheet Trived, an entrepreneur “passionate about AI, energy and the environment,” according to his LinkedIn.
With Barber running for senate, four-term Somerville city councilor Will Mbah said he hopes to take her state representative seat in the 34th Middlesex District – making three of 11 councilors eyeing higher office so far this year.
Ewen-Campen said his goals as a state representative will be familiar from his work as a councilor: He plans to pursue “every issue that Somerville cares about,” including affordable housing, safe streets and immigrant protections. “The real power is at the State House,” he said. “I’m not naive and thinking we’re going to get one state rep in there and solve everything, but I am really committed, and I believe progress is possible.”
This is Ewen-Campen’s ninth year on the council.
“When I first ran, it was against an incumbent and I was nobody,” he said, referring to his 2017 race against Robert McWatters. “That first year I had to prove myself … I’ve had challengers since, but once you’ve had an opportunity to work with constituents, it’s easier to be credible – you’ve shown you can work with everybody and get laws past.”
In the past two elections to represent Ward 3, Ewen-Campen won 78 percent of the vote over challenger John Fitzpatrick in 2023 and was unchallenged last year.
Ewen-Campen was raised in Cambridge and has a doctorate in developmental and evolutionary biology from Harvard. He works as a researcher at Harvard Medical School.
If he wins Uyterhoeven’s seat, he will leave his seat on the council, Ewen-Campen said.
About the race districts
The 2nd Middlesex District (a state Senate seat held by Pat Jehlen, in the office since 2005 but is retiring) includes the cities of Somerville and Medford; and parts of Cambridge and Winchester. Sought by: Burhan Azeem, Christine Barber, Tom Hopcroft, Matt McLaughlin, Neheet Trived, Erika Uyterhoeven
The 27th Middlesex District (a state House seat held by Erika Uyterhoeven, in the office since 2021 but running for Jehlen’s state Senate seat) includes much of Somerville. Sought by: Ben Ewen-Campen
The 34th Middlesex District (a state House seat held by Christine Barber, in the office since 2015 but running for Jehlen’s state Senate seat) includes parts of Somerville and Medford. Sought by: Will Mbah
The Suffolk and Middlesex District (a state Senate seat held by Will Brownsberger, in office since 2009 and running for reelection) includes the cities of Watertown and Belmont and parts of Cambridge and Boston. Sought by: Daniel Lander