4 candidates, 2 races: the 2nd Bristol and Plymouth Senate and 10th Bristol House candidates side by side

NEW BEDFORD Two contested races for the Legislature cover New Bedford, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Acushnet, Mattapoisett, Marion and Rochester today, Tuesday, Nov. 3: the state Senate seat for the 2nd Bristol and Plymouth District and the House seat for the 10th Bristol District. Depending on the address, a voter has one or both on the ballot. In both, a Democratic incumbent faces a Republican challenger. Polls open by 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Below, each race lists its candidates in ballot order, then the same topics in the same order. Positions come from the candidates' own campaign sites and, for Sylvia, from what he told The New Bedford Light in 2024. A topic neither candidate in a race has addressed is left out of that race. The incumbents' recorded votes follow.

Which district are you in

• State Senate, 2nd Bristol and Plymouth: all of New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth and Fairhaven in Bristol County, and Mattapoisett in Plymouth County.
• State representative, 10th Bristol: Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester, plus Acushnet Precincts 1 and 2A and New Bedford Ward 1 Precincts A, B and C1.

The state's Where Do I Vote lookup shows the districts and polling place for any address.

State Senate, 2nd Bristol and Plymouth: Mark C.W. Montigny and Robert Scott McConnell

• Mark C.W. Montigny: Democrat, of New Bedford, the incumbent.
• Robert Scott McConnell: Republican, of Fairhaven, the challenger. A 2023 campaign announcement published in the Fairhaven Neighborhood News said he was running for the Republican State Committee seat for the same Senate district in the March 5, 2024, primary.

Neither Montigny's campaign nor McConnell's has published a position on taxes, housing, roads and transit, school money, public safety or energy bills, so this race lists the candidates and the incumbent's recorded vote.

Montigny's record

On Wednesday, July 1, 2026, the Senate voted 39 to 1 to enact H.5555, the state budget for the fiscal year that began that day, Senate Roll Call No. 200. Montigny voted yes.

State representative, 10th Bristol: Mark D. Sylvia and Brendalee A. Smith

• Mark D. Sylvia: Democrat, of Fairhaven, the incumbent, seeking a second term. He is a former Fairhaven School Committee member and longtime moderator of Fairhaven's Town Meeting, and was the state's undersecretary of energy, The New Bedford Light reported in 2024.
• Brendalee A. Smith: Republican, of Fairhaven, the challenger.

Housing

Sylvia's campaign site says housing affordability "impacts everyone," renters, homeowners, families, single parents and seniors, and that the region "can do more to responsibly develop affordable housing." It calls the Affordable Homes Act "an important step." In 2024 he told The New Bedford Light he hoped the state would create local tax credits and trusts to fund local housing ideas such as rent relief or construction grants.

Smith's campaign has not published a position on housing.

Energy bills

Sylvia's site says families "are all paying more" for fuel, electricity and heating, along with insurance and child and elder care, and that he will work in the Legislature and with the Healey administration "to help control these costs." It also backs meeting the state's clean energy and climate targets for 2030 and 2050.

Smith's campaign has not published a position on energy bills.

Fishing, cranberries and the coast

Sylvia's site says he will champion "fishing, cranberry growing, and tourism" and work on state programs that "tackle water and wastewater issues and protect open spaces" in the district's coastal towns.

Smith's campaign has not published a position on the district's fishing, cranberry and tourism industries.

Sylvia's record

• State budget, July 1, 2026: The House voted 142 to 6 to enact H.5555, the budget for the fiscal year that began that day (Yea and Nay No. 224). Sylvia voted yes.
• Gas tax holiday, Oct. 21, 2026: Amendment 160 to the supplemental budget would have required gas stations to cut prices by the state gas tax for 60 days. It failed 30 to 122 (No. 271). Sylvia voted no.
• Offshore wind money, Oct. 21, 2026: Amendment 183 would have struck the bill's Section 116, a transfer of state money into the Massachusetts Offshore Wind Industry Investment Trust Fund. It failed 25 to 127 (No. 272). Sylvia voted no.
• Supplemental budget, Oct. 21, 2026: The House passed the supplemental budget for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 152 to 0 (No. 275). Sylvia voted yes.

The October votes are explained in full in our Legislator Watch for the week of Oct. 19. Money raised and spent by all four campaigns through Sept. 30 is in our look at the contested South Coast legislative races.

Other New Bedford House seats

In the 9th Bristol, Democrat Edward M. Pacheco and Republican Chester M. Tam answered the same five voter questions in our 9th Bristol Q and A.

The 11th Bristol, with Democratic Rep. Christopher M. Hendricks, and the 13th Bristol, with Democratic Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral, each have one candidate on the Secretary of the Commonwealth's list.

New Bedford Ward 1, Precincts B1 and C, vote in the contested 8th Bristol race, in our Fall River area side by side.

Where to vote

Polls are open until 8 p.m. Polling places and what to bring are in our Election Day guide, and results will post on the SC360 Election Center after the polls close.

Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day still count if the clerk receives them by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, under state election law.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.