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Photo: Persis Yu campaign. Persis Yu is challenging incumbent Mike Rush in the race for representing the Norfolk Suffolk district in the state senate.
4-26-2026 12:21am
State Sen. Mike Rush Faces First Challenger in Years for Norfolk-Suffolk Race
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Persis Yu, a Hyde Park attorney, on April 17 has announced that she will appear on the September 1, 2026 Democratic primary ballot for the Massachusetts State Senate seat representing the Norfolk and Suffolk district. This marks the first time in many years that voters will have more than one option for this race.
State election records show that incumbent Mike Rush has run unopposed on the ballot in both the Democratic primary and the general election in each cycle since at least 2012.
In her announcement, Ms. Yu highlighted that she received far more than the required 300 signatures, submitting 560 certified signatures with broad representation throughout the district.
The state senator for the Norfolk and Suffolk district represents residents in Westwood, Walpole, Norwood, Dedham, as well as a portion of Boston.
Ms. Yu says her campaign will focus on a "fair economy" that increases affordability, prioritizes families, and includes issues of affordable housing and universal child care.
“Across the district, voters are hungry for change. As a working mom raising two Boston Public School students, I know the economics of raising a family no longer work. While housing, childcare, and groceries get more expensive, Trump is selling out our families to billionaires and big corporations. It is time for Massachusetts to do more,” said Ms. Yu.
Ms. Yu said that her background includes experience as a social worker and attorney who has sued banks, technology companies, debt collectors, airlines, and the Trump administration's Department of Education on behalf of families, workers, and labor unions.
She is a longtime Hyde Park resident and mother of two children who attend Boston Public Schools.
