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State Senator-Elect Erika Uyterhoeven speaking at Somerville for Palestine’s candidate forum

By Somerville for Palestine

Across the country, we continue to see that standing with Palestine has become essential to winning Democratic primaries. Pro-Palestine candidates are bucking the establishment to win elections based on people power and with support from local organizing groups. Massachusetts’ 2nd Middlesex district maintained this trend, electing State Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven to be the district’s next state senator.

Uyterhoeven’s campaign was primarily powered by the unmatched organizing of Somerville for Palestine (S4P). Uyterhoeven’s campaign manager, Jovana Calvillo, and deputy campaign manager, Magda Mohamed, both organize with S4P, as do many of the hundreds of campaign volunteers who knocked on doors across the district. They, like many of the volunteers, decided to pour their support into Uyterhoeven because she has been explicit in both her support for Palestine and for local Palestine solidarity organizing.

“As a Jewish resident, I can’t see myself voting for someone who doesn’t take a principled stand against the genocide,” says Erin Axelman, a member of Somerville for Palestine’s Jewish caucus. “I put my energy behind Erika because she doesn’t hesitate to push back against a system that’s very much entrenched in Israel’s brutal genocide and apartheid system.”  S4P members’ dedication was enough to overcome endorsements from establishment Democrats, such as Governor Maura Healey, that sought to tilt the election toward opponent Christine Barber.

The elections results add to a fast-growing portfolio of candidates who are running on platforms that both emphasize affordability and our states’ and municipalities’ role in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Their wins show that these two things don’t have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, showing support for Palestine is not only the right thing—it is a winning issue.

Uyterhoeven’s win also tells us that the Palestine solidarity movement has powerfully and fundamentally changed local politics. Somerville for Palestine sponsored its own candidate forum earlier this year, inviting candidates who completed the group’s endorsement questionnaire and who both acknowledge Israel’s genocide in Gaza and support local and state efforts to end investments in companies fueling Israel’s war crimes. Somerville for Palestine’s entire slate of endorsed candidates swept into the State House – including Somerville City Counselors Ben Ewen-Campen and Will Mbah. Mike Connolly maintained his state rep. seat and Uyterhoeven is set to become the next state senator.

Each of these elected officials take principled stands against Israel’s genocide and apartheid. Ewen-Campen introduced the proposed boycott and divestment ordinance, and Mbah co-sponsored it. In years past, politicians were too afraid to publicly support Palestine. And yet, in a large part due to S4P’s organizing, each candidate now must contend with a highly organized pro-Palestine constituency—and what the polls tell us is that the people stand with leaders who stand with Palestine.

S4P’s growing organizing strength has been honed across three years of organizing against Israel’s accelerated genocide in Palestine. Somerville for Palestine’s ranks grew as residents and neighbors of Somerville and surrounding communities witnessed Israel’s deliberate targeting of Palestine and its institutions, including schools and hospitals. After initially approaching city counselors in 2024 to introduce an ordinance that would boycott companies profiting off of Israel’s systemic violence against Palestinians, S4P took the issue to the people, collecting more than 10,000 signatures to place the question of local divestment on the November 2025 ballot. The ballot question passed, receiving more votes than the winning mayoral candidate, showing clearly that the people of Somerville want to see their local officials take action in solidarity with Palestine.

It’s clear that Americans will no longer stay silent on US complicity in Israel’s war crimes. Uyterhoeven’s win is one among many where voters refuse to accept that our local tax dollars play a role in a genocide against the Palestinian people. It is a testament to the power of local community organizing and to the fact that the tides have changed: Democratic politicians need to stand up for Palestine if they want to win.

Somerville for Palestine dabke troupe performs at get out the vote canvass for State Senator-elect Erika Uyterhoeven