Democratic voter turnout in Cambridge jumped 42 percent from 2024, including a 17 percent increase in state Representative Marjorie C. Decker’s district, where more than 8,200 votes were cast as voters sent Decker back to the State House by a 505-vote margin.

The 2026 race saw a sharp uptick in support for the incumbent, who held onto her seat by just 41 votes when challenger Evan C. MacKay ’19 first ran against her two years ago. The Crimson analyzed vote counts by precinct and found that Decker flipped four precincts MacKay had won in 2024 and narrowed the margin in precincts where MacKay retained a larger vote share this year.

The district includes 15 precincts, all in Cambridge, stretching from just north of Porter Square to Central Square. Decker took the district’s six largest precincts, including two that MacKay had narrowly won two years ago. Decker’s largest wins came from parts of Porter Square, Avon Hill, and the entirety of the Quad. The incumbent held a 231-vote lead over MacKay in her two best-performing precincts — 8-1 and 10-2 — nearly doubling her 119-vote edge across the same precincts last election.

Decker flipped four precincts in her favor compared to 2024, winning nine total, while MacKay flipped just two — where a combined 132 ballots were cast in 2026, marking the two smallest precincts by turnout.

MacKay won six precincts in the city but held a much narrower edge than Decker. The 7-3 precinct, where MacKay maintained their largest lead, includes a majority of Harvard Yard, along with Adams and Quincy House. MacKay garnered 104 votes in the precinct — 29 more than Decker.

But MacKay saw smaller margins in their other winning precincts, with a one-vote edge in both 7-2A and 10-1A, which respectively represent part of the Agassiz neighborhood and part of North Cambridge.

This year’s race also saw higher fundraising and more aggressive campaigning from both candidates. Decker vastly outraised her challenger, reporting more than $246,000 in campaign contributions this year, more than double MacKay’s roughly $112,000.

Decker reported more than $45,500 in donations from 159 residents in her district, 59 of whom listed addresses in Decker’s two strongest precincts.

But most of MacKay’s financial support came from precincts 8-1 and 10-2, with roughly $10,600 from 43 donors — both precincts that were ultimately swept by Decker. MacKay garnered just $105 in donations from three donors in the 7-3 precinct, where they won by 29 votes.

And in districts that include parts of Cambridge, voters in the city generally favored the candidate closer to home.

First-time challenger Daniel A. Lander ’14, originally from West Cambridge, pulled ahead of incumbent state Senator William N. Brownsberger ’78 in Cambridge by about 250 votes in a razor-thin race. The district covers parts of west Cambridge and Boston, as well as Watertown and Belmont.

Both candidates sought a districtwide recount as Lander held a four-vote lead on Thursday afternoon. Brownsberger pulled ahead by 34 votes as unofficial counts rolled in Friday afternoon.

In the four-way race for the 2nd Middlesex State Senate seat, Cambridge Vice Mayor Burhan Azeem drew a disproportionate share of his support from Cambridge. More than a third of Azeem’s nearly 6,100-vote total came from his home city.

Azeem saw more support from Cambridge than any other candidate, drawing 2,111 votes, followed closely by state Representatives Erika Uyterhoeven with 1,897 and Christine P. Barber with 1,753. He received 18 percent of the total vote share, with Uyterhoeven and Barber taking 37 and 30 percent, respectively.

Uyterhoeven ultimately triumphed in the race, winning nearly 12,400 votes across Somerville, Medford, and parts of Winchester and Cambridge that make up the district.

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at shawnb.18. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

—Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at ClaireMichal.154.