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The State Senate primary elections did not conclude shortly after election day, as it is often expected to. They stretched on until September 10 for Allston Brighton’s district, Suffolk/Middlesex.
The election in numbers
A recount of votes tallied that incumbent William Brownsberger beat Daniel Lander by 35 votes in an election where 25,649 people participated. About 174,000 people reside in the district, according to a 2024 American Community Survey estimate conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Lander won a decisive victory in Allston Brighton, capturing 61% of the vote (4,538 votes) compared to Brownsberger’s 39 percent (2,896 votes). Total turnout reached 7,854 voters out of an estimated neighborhood population of over 65,000.
Ward 21 (Allston)
L 26 · B 10
L 115 · B 44
L 96 · B 48
L 169 · B 84
L 156 · B 123
L 155 · B 90
L 227 · B 87
L 232 · B 106
L 191 · B 64
L 174 · B 92
L 130 · B 109
L 203 · B 161
L 122 · B 70
L 163 · B 80
B 183 · L 176
Ward 22 (Brighton)
L 169 · B 113
L 268 · B 159
L 239 · B 148
L 200 · B 163
L 159 · B 76
L 114 · B 74
L 192 · B 148
B 118 · L 112
L 141 · B 111
L 222 · B 120
L 155 · B 110
L 125 · B 102
L 107 · B 103
Tiles ordered by precinct number, not drawn to geographic scale. Lander led Allston-Brighton overall 4,538 to 2,896 (61%-39%). By Joanna Lin with assistance from Claude AI.
While Lander took the lead in Boston, Cambridge, and Watertown, Brownsberger overwhelmingly won in his hometown of Belmont.
Brownsberger in the State Senate
A previous analysis by Allstonia explained how Brownsberger and Lander both acknowledged a housing crisis in Massachusetts, but differed in their approaches to addressing it. Brownsberger prioritized cutting red tape, explaining that he was interested in passing laws that accelerate the housing approval process. Lander had advocated for partnering with public housing authorities and adding fees to high-value property sales as funds to scale affordable housing construction.
Brownsberger states that he is committed to regional rail connecting Boston to surrounding cities, but is first prioritizing partnerships with the MBTA to return it to “dependable service,” identifying staffing shortages and lack of robust funding.
Consisting of 40 seats, the State Senate is expected to work alongside the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Governor of Massachusetts to create laws and establish a state budget. Proposed bills must go through the State Senate and Massachusetts House before they can reach the governor and become a law. Brownsberger has had his seat in the State Senate since January 2012 and has been Senate President Pro Tempore since January 2019.
