Early look at House and Senate races in Central Mass.: Which incumbents face challengers?

BOSTON — Central Massachusetts legislators hoping for reelection mostly beat the April 30 deadline for filing nomination papers with the municipal clerks and election officials in the communities they serve, and many have already secured a spot on the September primary ballot.

“It’s best not to wait for the last minute,” said Rep. Meghan Kilcoyne, D-Clinton, who submitted her signatures weeks ago to the clerks in the six communities she represents.

Other incumbent representatives who have qualified for the primary ballot include Hannah Kane, R-Shrewsbury, David LeBoeuf, D-Worcester, James O’Day, D-West Boylston, Jonathan Zlotnik, D-Gardner, Daniel Donahue, D-Worcester, Michael Kushmerek, D-Fitchburg, Paul Frost, R-Auburn, Joe McKenna, R-Webster, David Muradian, R-Grafton, and Michael Soter, R-Bellingham.

Reps. Mary Keefe, D-Worcester, John Mahoney, D-Worcester, and Brian Murray, D-Milford, have requested nomination papers from the state but had not brought signed and certified lists to the secretary of state's office as of late Tuesday afternoon. Donald Berthiaume, R-Spencer, said he is definitely running for re-election; however, Debra O'Malley, a spokesperson for the Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin, said the office has not received all his paperwork to date.

In the Senate, Democrats Robyn Kennedy of Worcester, Jake Oliveira of Ludlow, Jo Comerford of Northampton, and Becca Rausch of Needham have filed their papers and are assured spots on the primary ballot. Republican Senators Ryan Fattman of Webster and Peter Durant of Spencer have also completed their paperwork and are on the primary ballot.

Which reps and senators are facing challenges?

According to Secretary of State William F. Galvin, three House challengers and a Senate challenger have already met deadlines and criteria to land a slot on the September primary ballot in Worcester County districts.

• Rep. Natalie Higgins, D-Leominster, was first elected to her 4th Worcester seat in 2017. Salvatore Perla, a Leominster Republican, has filed paperwork to challenge Higgins in the November general election.

• Rep. John Marsi, R-Dudley, won a March special election to fill the vacant 6th Worcester District seat. He faces a challenge in November from Jeanne Costello, a Charlton Democrat.

• Rep. Kim Ferguson, R-Holden, the first assistant minority leader in the House, represents the 1st Worcester District. Anthony Ferrante, also of Holden, an unenrolled candidate, has filed paperwork to run for the seat.

• Rep. Paul Frost, R-Millbury, has a challenger for the 7th Worcester: Terry Burke Dotson, Millbury, running as an unenrolled candidate, has to fulfill a May 28 to file a missing document with the Secretary of State.

• Sen. John Cronin, D-Lunenburg, faces a challenge from Nicholas Pirro III of Leominster, a Republican, in the Worcester & Middlesex District seat.

Meanwhile, Colin Brown, a Democrat from Hardwick, has requested nomination papers to run for the 5th Worcester District seat held by Berthiaume. The secretary of state's office said he had not returned them as of Wednesday afternoon.

There may be more challenges to incumbents as nomination papers have been requested by several political hopefuls. In Gardner, Republican Bruce Chester had requested nomination papers to challenge Zlotnik in the 2nd Worcester District; and in 8th Worcester, Thomas Hammann, a Bellingham Republican, requested nomination papers as a challenge to Soter. Taylor Crane, of Clinton, has requested nomination papers to run against Kilcoyne in 12th Worcester.

Fattman may have at least one challenger; Monson Democrat Anthony Allard, pulled nomination papers.

Boyd Conklin, a Westborough resident, has requested paperwork to collect signatures for nominations to two different seats: the 19th Worcester House District, currently held by Rep. Kate Donaghue, D-Westborough; and the 2nd Worcester Senate District seat, held by Sen. Michael Moore, D-Millbury.

If Conklin, who would be running as an unenrolled candidate, meets signature requirements and is certified for both offices, he would have to choose one and withdraw from the other, said O’Malley. The candidate had not filed his paperwork with the state as of Wednesday.

How does the nomination process work?

The nomination petitions, each requiring a minimum of 300 signatures for senatorial hopefuls and 150 signatures for people seeking a seat in the House, are filed with municipal election officials and certified at the local level over a three-week period. Tuesday was the deadline for that to happen.

Once the signatures have been approved locally, the petitions are collected by the candidates and submitted to Galvin’s office for certification.

Galvin’s office prints a list of qualified candidates for the state primary June 4. That list also includes candidates running for federal office. Only candidates from the three parties recognized by Massachusetts (Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians) are listed on the primary ballot. Unenrolled or independent candidates are only listed on the November ballot.

“Incumbents usually file early,” said O’Malley. “That way, if there are issues with the paperwork, they can be addressed in enough time to meet the April 30 deadline.”

Candidates cannot present signatures after the April 30 deadline.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Central Mass. House and Senate races: An early look