The Melrose Messenger

State Senate: Lewis Will Retire, Lipper-Garabedian Will Run

By Ellen Putnam

Melrose will see changes in the lawmakers who represent us at the State House next session, with longtime State Senator Jason Lewis announcing this week that he will not seek re-election, and current State Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian announcing today that she will run for the open state Senate seat.

Like its federal counterpart, Massachusetts has a bicameral state legislature (officially known as the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts), with two bodies: the House of Representatives and the Senate. All legislation, including the annual state budget, must pass both bodies and be signed into law by the Governor. 34 of the 40 seats in the state Senate are held by Democrats, and 134 of the 160 seats in the state House of Representatives are held by Democrats.

State Senator and State Representative are two of the offices that will be on the ballot in the state election this fall. Both offices are up for election every two years. The other offices that will be on the ballot include:

• U.S. Senator (currently held by Ed Markey, who is expected to have a number of challengers, including current U.S. Representative Seth Moulton);
• U.S. Representative (currently held by Katherine Clark, who is also expected to have challengers in both the primary and general elections);
• Governor (currently Maura Healey), Lieutenant Governor (currently Kim Driscoll), Attorney General (currently Andrea Campbell), Secretary of State (currently Bill Galvin), Treasurer (currently Deb Goldberg), and Auditor (currently Diana DiZoglio).
• Voters will also elect a Governor’s Councillor, District Attorney, and Register of Probate.

Jason Lewis, of Winchester, was first elected to the Massachusetts State House in 2008 as the state representative for the district that includes Stoneham and Winchester. He then ran for and was elected to the state Senate in a special election in 2014, after Katherine Clark was elected to Congress and left the Fifth Middlesex District seat open.

“After almost 12 years of proudly representing the Fifth Middlesex District, I have made the difficult decision not to run for re-election to the state Senate this year,” Lewis said in a statement. “Serving in the Senate and previously in the House of Representatives has been a great privilege. I am truly grateful to the voters who placed their faith in me in numerous elections.”

“I have had the opportunity to work on impactful legislation — like universal paid family and medical leave, increasing the minimum wage, the Student Opportunity Act, the Fair Share Amendment, strengthening early education and childcare, and Alzheimer's treatment — that has improved the lives of my constituents and residents across the Commonwealth. I have also been able to partner with community groups to pursue exciting local projects, including constructing the Tri-Community Greenway, opening the Bridge Recovery Center, renovating the Winchester Center Commuter Rail Station, building many new schools, and more. It has also been very rewarding to provide constituent services that have helped people access healthcare, unemployment insurance, housing assistance, and resolve other issues that they are struggling with.”

“I look forward to continuing to serve my constituents until the last day of this legislative term. After that I will begin a new chapter in my life, one in which I will find new ways to make a meaningful impact.”

Melrose resident Kate Lipper-Garabedian was elected to the state House of Representatives in a special election in March 2020, after Paul Brodeur left office to serve as Mayor of Melrose. She had previously served on the Melrose City Council, and is a lawyer by training.

“Today, I am officially declaring my candidacy for State Senate for the Fifth Middlesex District,” Lipper-Garabedian said in a statement. “Senator Lewis has been an incredible leader throughout his time in the state legislature, ushering through historic legislation that meaningfully benefits families across the Commonwealth. Over the last six years, as State Representative, I have been privileged to partner with him to deliver resources and responsive constituent services to our communities while collaborating on transformative legislation that makes Massachusetts a national leader on so many of the issues about which we care deeply.”

“We are at a defining moment in our nation’s history, one that demands bold, effective leadership in a state that serves as a beacon of hope for a fractured nation. I come to this moment as someone who believes passionately in the mandate of government to make life better for individuals and families, someone who listens carefully and works hard for her constituents, and someone whose experience in state and local government ensures that she will get things done for the Fifth Middlesex District.”

“I will stand firm in upholding the basic pillars of our democracy and protecting reproductive freedom, our immigrant neighbors, and healthcare access,” she said. “I will champion laws and investments that address our affordability challenges, support our schools and protect our kids, honor our veterans and older adults, and maintain our climate resiliency and environmental stewardship efforts.”

A sitting state representative often has an advantage in a state Senate race, due to their visibility and available campaign funds. The three most recent state Senators to represent Melrose - Lewis, Clark, and Richard Tisei - were all state representatives before they ran for state Senate.

The boundaries of state Senate districts do not match up with the boundaries of state House of Representative districts. Of the seven state representatives who represent parts of the Fifth Middlesex State Senate district, only three representatives would be eligible to run for the seat, based on where they live: Lipper-Garabedian, Michael Day of Stoneham, and Steve Ultrino of Malden. All three are registered Democrats. So far, neither Day nor Ultrino has announced that they plan to run for the state Senate seat.

When Lewis ran for state Senate in a special election in 2014, he defeated two other Democrats in the primary, and Melrose resident Monica Medeiros, who was running as a Republican, in the general election. (Medeiros, who at the time was serving as Alderman At Large in Melrose, earned 38 more votes among Melrose voters than Lewis did, although Lewis won the district overall, 52.7% to 46.3%.)

Since his election in 2014, Lewis defeated Republican challengers Vincent Dixon in 2016 (58% to 26%), Erin Calvo-Bacci in 2018 (63% to 31%), and Edward Dombroski in 2022 (61% to 35%). In 2018, Melrose resident Sam Hammar challenged Lewis in the Democratic primary, and won Melrose primary voters by 57% to 38%, although Lewis prevailed in the district as a whole, by 51% to 41%.

Whoever else joins the state Senate race and whatever the outcome, Lipper-Garabedian’s announcement means that the state representative seat for the 32nd Middlesex District, which includes all of Melrose and parts of Wakefield and Malden, will also be open.

For at least the last five representatives, dating back to Patrick Guerriero’s election in 1993, Melrose has been represented in the state House of Representatives by a Melrose resident. This is largely due to the geography of the district, which includes all of Melrose, but only parts of Wakefield and Malden. Lipper-Garabedian, Brodeur, and Mike Festa all served on the Melrose City Council (or Board of Alderman) prior to their election to the state House of Representatives, and Katherine Clark served on the Melrose School Committee.

So far, no one has declared their candidacy to represent the 32nd Middlesex District in the House of Representatives.

Any candidates for state senator or state representative can submit voter signatures (300 for the Senate, 150 for the House of Representatives) between now and the end of April. Candidates who are registered in a party will appear on the ballot for their respective party primary on September 1st. The winners of the primary elections, along with any unenrolled candidates, will appear on the ballot for the general election on November 3rd.

Updated February 25th, 2026