Mike Connolly Wins Democratic Primary in Bid for Sixth Term

Incumbent State Rep. Mike L. Connolly won the Democratic primary in his bid for a sixth term representing the 26th Middlesex district, taking 82 percent of the vote as of 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Connolly, who has represented the district since 2017, faced the first primary challenger of his tenure this cycle — Harvard Kennedy School student Neil S. Miller, whose platform centered housing affordability.

Connolly declared victory at his Central Square watch party around 9 p.m., about half an hour after the Associated Press reported that Miller had tallied 21 percent of the votes.

“We won by a very significant margin, and a victory like this doesn’t belong to one individual. It belongs to all of us in this room who have done this work, and it belongs to our entire community,” Connolly said to the around two dozen attendees.

Miller called Connolly to concede at 8:30 p.m. Miller confirmed the loss in an interview with The Crimson nearly an hour later, saying he was proud of his campaign.

“We got to talk to thousands and thousands of voters, and it was a gift to meet so many neighbors,” Miller said.

While Miller positioned himself as a political outsider whose previous experience as a data scientist for the federal government and housing advocate made him a prime candidate to enact reform, Connolly’s record as one of Beacon Hill’s most progressive legislators landed him a decisive win in the primary.

“I feel like it’s a validation of the work that I’ve done,” Connolly said in an interview with The Crimson after declaring victory. “The work that I’ve done has really tried to reflect the values of our community — so I’m just really grateful.”

Frank L. Gerratana, Connolly’s campaign treasurer, announced the results at Connolly’s watch party at the Middle East in Central Square Tuesday night, 10 minutes before Connolly arrived to cheers.

Miller and Connolly campaigned on largely similar pillars — including navigating affordability issues for constituents, improved public transportation, combating climate change, access to healthcare, and various efforts to beat back the Trump administration.

“I hope that you’ll continue working with me as we work to fulfill the things we’ve worked on, whether it’s making housing a human right, addressing climate change, having real economic justice, improving the MBTA,” Connolly said to supporters on election night.

On the campaign trail, Miller often took aim at Connolly’s record, arguing that the incumbent “isn’t very good” at messaging on affordable housing, even when his votes align with more progressive efforts.

But Connolly touted a slate of legislative wins to increase affordable housing across the district — and voters decided it was enough to send him back to the State House. Since assuming office in 2017, he has pushed for a slew of progressive policies to increase access to housing statewide, including a social housing pilot program in the Affordable Homes Act, rent stabilization efforts in the Tenant Protection Act, and advocating for Tenant Opportunity to Purchase in the summer House economic development bill.

Connolly’s reelection bid was backed by several progressive organizations, including Abundant Housing Massachusetts, a housing advocacy organization co-founded by Cambridge Vice Mayor Burhan Azeem.

He also secured endorsements from several members of the Cambridge City Council, and State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, whom he championed for attempting to increase the transparency of the legislature against State House efforts to scale back her proposed financial audit.

—Staff writer Hugo C. Chiasson can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at hcc.35. Follow him on X @HugoChiassonn.

—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at sbc.23. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784.

—Staff writer Abigail S. Gerstein can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at abbysg.97. Follow her on X @abbysgerstein.