Spending in legislative races topped $11 million

November 19, 2024

By Gintautas Dumcius

For a cool $11 million, you can buy a Beacon Street residence that boasts rooms “splashed with sunlight” and the “latest” home technology inside.

Under the golden dome on the 226-year-old building next door, there is a House, as well as a Senate, without as much sunlight or many upgrades, but costing about the same amount.

Just over 300 candidates campaigned for the 200 seats in the House and Senate this year, with $11.2 million over the last 10 months flowing out of their campaign accounts, paying for consultants and mailers aimed at voters, newspaper subscriptions, and food and drinks for staff and constituents.

But contested races were few and far between. Most incumbents glided to reelection without opposition, including top House and Senate leaders, who were among the biggest spenders. Ron Mariano, the House speaker, shelled out $258,431, while Senate President Karen Spilka spent $317,856.

The total spending on legislative races is up from $9.1 million in 2020, the last time the seats were on the same ballot as a presidential election. State senators and representatives run every two years.

The spending record stands at $17.6 million, set in 2004 when nearly 400 candidates ran for House and Senate offices, according to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance, which keeps regulatory tabs on the money that flows through elections.

In 2004, the Bay State’s own John Kerry was at the top of the presidential ticket, vying against  George W. Bush, while then-Gov. Mitt Romney sought to boost Republican numbers in the Legislature. While Bush won a second term, Romney failed miserably, as every legislative incumbent was reelected, and Democrats added two seats in the House and one in the Senate.

This year, Massachusetts Republicans fared a little better, but not by much. They picked up a Senate seat, and two Democratic seats in the House, but also lost two Republican House seats.

One of the marquee races, considered to be one of the best opportunities for Republicans to pick up a seat, ended with the Democrat, Dylan Fernandes, eking out a narrow win over Republican Mathew Muratore, a fellow state representative, in a battle for a Plymouth-based Senate seat.

Fernandes vastly outspent Muratore, shoveling out $363,000, more than double the Republican’s $149,000. Fernandes spent it on campaign staff, polling and advertising buys, among other expenses, with his cumulative total over the last 10 months coming to $6.26 per vote, while Muratore spent $2.70 per vote.

In Greater Boston, the most-watched race ended up being a Democratic primary, as Rep. Marjorie Decker beat back a challenge from her left by just 40 votes. Harvard University graduate student Evan MacKay, in his appeal to voters in the liberal Cambridge-based district, sought to oust her by arguing Decker was too close to House leaders.

Decker spent $66 per vote, totaling $248,466, while MacKay spent $19 per vote, for a total of $65,358. Decker poured most of her money into paying campaign hands – she hired young Cambridge residents to knock on doors for her – and mail pieces. MacKay spent his money on food for volunteers and campaign literature.

In the one Senate race that Republicans did notch a notable win, Taunton Councilor Kelly Dooner won despite appearing to be slightly outspent by Raynham Selectman Joe Pacheco heading into the November election. The numbers for the final days of the election haven’t been released yet. In Somerset, Justin Thurber, the Air Force veteran and Republican candidate who beat longtime Democratic Rep. Patricia Haddad, was also outspent.

Both successful Republican campaigns indicate that the state GOP may have missed an opportunity in not running more candidates in that area of the state. Michael Rodrigues, the Senate Ways and Means chairman who beat back a Republican opponent two years ago with 57 percent of the vote, ran unopposed this year, even as his hometown of Westport went for Donald Trump.