Karla Miller, the Lowell resident who ran against Rodney Elliott for 16th Middlesex State Representative in 2022 and was rumored to be doing so again this fall, is aiming for a different seat on Beacon Hill.
Miller confirmed to InsideLowell this morning that she is mounting a campaign for 1st Middlesex State Senate, the seat currently held by Ed Kennedy of Lowell.
“I am running for State Senate for the 1st Middlesex District because We the People of Massachusetts deserve better,” Miller said when asked about her candidacy. “We are tired of the progressive policies that are having a negative impact on our lives. We need lower taxes, lower inflation and the return of our Freedoms! The State needs to leave our children alone and our State Representatives should be pressuring our Representatives in Washington to demand POTUS close the border by Executive Order.”
While Republican candidates have an uphill climb campaigning for most Massachusetts offices, the new 1st Middlesex District offers a more enticing target for the GOP than the previous boundaries.
The District is still solidly Democrat with Lowell being the dominant community, but the more left leaning towns of Groton and Westford were replaced by the right leaning town of Dracut in January of 2023.
Karla Miller chats with former ICE Director Thomas Homan after he delivered his keynote address during the MassGOP Convention May 21, 2022, in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)
Tyngsborough, Dunstable and Pepperell are the other communities making up the 1st Middlesex District.
This November’s election will also feature the larger turnouts the accompany Presidential contests, throwing another dynamic into the first race held in the newly drawn district.
Kennedy has served in the Senate since 2019, winning a very competitive Democratic primary in September of 2018 over a field that included one-time Lowell City Councilors John Drinkwater, Rodney Elliott and Bill Martin, along with current Lowell Parking Director Terry Ryan.
He went on to beat Republican John MacDonald in November’s general election and has run unopposed until Miller’s challenge.
