Erika Uyterhoeven led in the Democratic primary held Tuesday for the state Senate seat held by Pat Jehlen, according to unofficial election results, beating Cambridge vice mayor Burhan Azeem, 34th Middlesex District state representative Christine Barber and Somerville city councilor Matt McLaughlin.
The 2nd Middlesex District includes the cities of Somerville and Medford and parts of Cambridge and Winchester.
Uyterhoeven was the favorite in her hometown of Somerville, and in Winchester. In Cambridge, as might be expected, things turned out different for the hometown candidate: Azeem took first, Uyterhoeven second. Barber led in Medford, with Uyterhoeven in second.
On Wednesday, Uyterhoeven – noting her vote total of 12,335 as being 2,000 ahead of her closest opponent – told constituents they “did not just elect a state senator. You sent a mandate to the State House: This district will not wait for change to be safe or politically expedient.”
With no known Republican or third-party candidates named for November’s general election, it’s likely that the primary decides the race.
The breakdowns:
There were 17,250 ballots cast in Somerville out of 54,377 registered voters, for 32 percent turnout. Out of the 16,031 allots cast in the 2nd Middlesex race, Uyterhoeven won 6,816 votes, or 43 percent; Barber got 4,391 votes, or 27 percent; Azeem took 2,505 votes for 16 percent and McLaughlin got 2,211 votes and 14 percent.
There were 20,206 votes cast in Cambridge out of 70,250 registered voters, for 29 percent turnout. Out of the 6,025 ballots cast in the 2nd Middlesex race, Azeem won 2,037 votes for 34 percent; Uyterhoeven won 1,826 votes, or 30 percent; Barber got 1,683 votes, or 28 percent; and McLaughlin seemed unknown in the city, getting 420 votes and 14 percent.
Winchester’s 33,371 voters in this race preferred Uyterhoeven (12,335 votes, or 37 percent) and gave Barber second place (10,142 votes, or 30 percent), followed by Azeem (6,073 votes, or 18 percent) and McLaughlin (4,171 votes, or 13 percent). Medford had 10,346 ballots in this race, giving Barber first place: 3,458 votes, or 33 percent. But Uyterhoeven was close behind at 3,240 votes, or 31 percent. Trailing them was McLaughlin with 1,433 votes, or 14 percent, and Azeem in fourth place with 1,352 votes, or 13 percent.
Candidate concessions
Barber called Uyterhoeven to concede at around 10:20 p.m, according to The Tufts Daily, telling supporters to extend their campaigning energy “into the next fight, because we need that energy. There is so much fight ahead of us. That’s what I’m going to do, because it is too urgent not to.”
Azeem also conceded, in a thread of posts on the Bluesky app early Wednesday. “Not to be salty – Erika won fair and square and will do great,” Azeem said, “The district was only 18 percent Cambridge, and we were on the edge of it. Cambridge is generally cracked into many different state senate races, and I had low name recognition outside it.” Fundraising and a lack of backing from Democratic Socialist volunteers also hurt, Azeem said.
“The DSA left is definitely having a moment. Erika almost won an outright majority in Somerville and had a very strong showing in Medford,” Azeem said.
McLaughlin posted on social media that “the outcome of tonight’s election was not what I was hoping for … but my commitment to advancing issues to help the working class will not stop here, and I look forward to working with the winner to ensure the issues I’ve been fighting for my entire life remain at the top of mind.”
He thanked the other candidates for running a “fair and competitive race.”
“I am honored to continue serving the community of East Somerville as your city councilor and will wake up tomorrow ready to get to work for you, as I always have, as I consider my next steps,” McLaughlin said.
Compelling stories
When Jehlen announced her retirement from office and a seat she’s held since 2005, it drew significant interest and the most candidates of any area race. Before boiling down to the final four, the race included Cantabrigian Neheet Trivedi (who declared but left the race in June with an endorsement of Azeem) and Winchester School Committee member Tom Hopcroft (who departed in July).
The race was identified as the most expensive of its kind in state history by Jack Perenick, chair of the Somerville Democratic Party, with around $700,000 in expenditures identified from the campaigns and independent political action committees. It was, he said, “a highly irregular amount of money” despite two candidates – Barber and McLaughlin – rejecting super Pac money even without the formal agreement known as the “people’s pledge” against independent expenditures.
Each candidate had experience and a compelling story.
Barber has a long list of legislative accomplishments achieved since election to the Somerville-Medford 34th Middlesex District in 2015, including capping insulin and inhaler copays and passing laws around driver licenses regardless of immigration status, pay transparency and the MBTA green line extension of trains to Somerville and Medford. She suggested repeatedly that she was the heir to the seat of Jehlen, a colleague and occasional partner in lawmaking on a pay equity bill, funding for Clarendon Hill housing upgrades in Somerville and Laura’s Law, which ensures patients can find hospital access in emergencies. The narrative became explicit when Jehlen endorsed Barber in early August.
“I don’t usually endorse in legislative races, but in this case I think the person who is best prepared and has proven that she is best prepared to carry the fight for affordable housing, affordable health care and affordable living in general is Christine Barber,” Jehlen said, joining her endorsement with that of governor Maura Healey.
Uyterhoeven has fewer years in Somerville’s 27th Middlesex District – she was elected in 2021 – but added a renegade Democratic Socialist energy to her legislative record. Azeem had an American Dream tale of Pakistani immigrant pluck, an MIT scholarship and a series of sweeping changes in Cambridge to tout, work that earned a Boston Globe blurb as one of the most ambitious housing policies passed in the country. McLaughlin matched that tale with his own working-class story of rising from Somerville streets filled with drugs and violence to attend Harvard and Tufts, work as a janitor and join the U.S. Army before returning to enact policies that save and change lives.
Each elected official had accomplishments to point to and insight into what needs fixing, including in the area of housing, where the district’s cities have led in helping fulfill a goal of adding 200,000 homes (“not that much in a state of 4 million to 5 million units,” Azeem said) while others have defied the MBTA Communities Act meant to energize development. The candidates said they would continue to fight for more affordable housing and policies such as more transparency for State House voting.
Uyterhoeven and AI
The closing days of the race saw an unwelcome ripple for Uyterhoeven when the Massachusetts Teachers Association posted an AI-generated video endorsing her on a social media platform. In it, a heavily retouched Uyterhoeven poses triumphantly as text describes how she has made a mission of funding schools fully. Neither the candidate nor the MTA responded to repeated questions about the ad, including why Uyterhoeven doesn’t look like herself, but responses online were negative – not just because generative artificial intelligence steals work from artists, but because Uyterhoeven had signaled during her campaign, including on her official platform, that she would guard against intrusive uses for the tech “because Massachusetts must prove that innovation and accountability go hand in hand.”
“I just saw your TV ad which utilizes generative Al to create animation. Generative Al steals work from artists, and Al data centers pollute communities, drive climate change and waste an unconscionable amount of energy and water. Please do better,” one person wrote on Bluesky to agreement from other users: “Very disappointing to see this from a local politician with otherwise progressive policies.” “What is this AI slop?” “AI ads? Really? This is a huge bummer.” One user tagged Uyterhoeven to ask her if she knew “AI slop ads are being made on your behalf.”
Perenick said during an Aug. 27 call that it wasn’t a surprise that an independent expenditure groups wouldn’t comment on their materials, “which is part of why a lot of Massachusetts voters are a little skeptical of them – they tend to be kind of secretive.”
He declined to comment on the ad specifically, beyond noting that on Facebook, where more Uyterhoeven supporters expressed disappointment, the candidate’s name was misspelled. (“If you’re if you’re going to spend all that money on a digital ad, maybe spell check?” he said.) But Perenick said he wished Uyterhoeven had joined the pledge against independent expenditures like that by the MTA.
After the election, Uyterhoeven noted the grassroots approach of her campaign. “We built this without a dollar of developer, corporate lobbyist or Pac money. We built it through tens of thousands of conversations at front porches, farmers markets, and block parties. Our campaign reached over 47,000 people at their door, made over 93,000 phone calls, and, most importantly, brought together over 300 volunteers,” she said.
