A state senator from the Boston suburbs who’s helped shape Massachusetts’ tax and education policies announced Tuesday he will not run for reelection after nearly two decades on Beacon Hill.
Winchester Democrat Jason Lewis was one of the leading voices in the Legislature behind the push to adopt an extra tax on incomes over $1 million to finance education and transportation projects. He was also a key figure in passing a 2019 law that overhauled the school funding formula, delivering $2 billion in additional state money to K-12 schools.
“I’m not someone who believes in term limits, but I also don’t believe in lifetime tenure for people in elected office,” Lewis told GBH News. “I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot of what I set out to do, especially in the area of education policy and school funding, and I think now is a good time for me to go into the next chapter of my life, whatever that may be.”
In addition, Lewis worked to raise the state’s tobacco-buying age from 18 to 21, and was one of the main negotiators on a 2018 law that increased Massachusetts’ minimum wage to $15 and created a paid family and medical leave program for most workers across the state.
“As a progressive legislator, Jason has managed incredibly well the difficult skill on Beacon Hill — playing a meaningful role in crafting legislation up against various pressures to compromise, while not giving up his values,” Marlborough Sen. Jamie Eldridge wrote in a Facebook post.
Competitive race ahead
Lewis ran unopposed in 2024 but has faced Republican and Democratic challengers over the years. His decision sets up what will likely be a competitive race for a seat that represents Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham and Wakefield, as well as parts of Winchester.
Somerville Democrat Sen. Patricia Jehlen, who represents a neighboring district that also includes parts of Winchester, is not running for reelection this year either, leaving the region poised for a political shift.
In an interview Tuesday, Lewis teased, but declined to name, a forthcoming candidate for his seat, who he said would “make a terrific state senator.”
“I do expect you’ll see an announcement, perhaps tomorrow, from someone who I expect will run and somebody that I am excited, very excited, to see running for the seat,” Lewis said.
Lewis, 57, was born in South Africa and moved to the United States at age 12. He was first elected to the Massachusetts House in 2008, and said the issues of school funding and marriage equality spurred him to run.
Growing up during the apartheid years, Lewis said he saw “how cruel that system of oppression was.”
“So the opportunity to help see marriage equality in Massachusetts sustained and to continue to advance LGBTQ rights and gender equality and economic justice issues, that’s also motivated me a lot,” he said.
Lewis won his Senate seat in a 2014 special election, after then-state Sen. Katherine Clark was elected to Congress.
Three current state representatives, all Democrats, live in Lewis’ district and could be looked toward as potential contenders to succeed him: Reps. Kate Lipper-Garabedian of Melrose, Steven Ultrino of Malden and Michael Day of Stoneham.
Day posted a statement to social media that thanked Lewis but did not speak to his own future plans.
“We have developed a mutual respect and friendship over our policy agreements (and disagreements) and he has served us with dignity, as a model of civility in public discourse,” wrote Day, the House chairman of the Judiciary Committee. “With his announcement that he will not seek re-election to the State Senate next term, today is a day that I use to express my gratitude to Senator Lewis, his wife Susan and their daughters for the sacrifices they have all made in the course of public service.”
Lewis has also been outspoken on national politics. In 2024, he was one of the first elected Democrats in Massachusetts to call for President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid. And in his retirement announcement Tuesday, Lewis pointed a finger at President Donald Trump.
“Finally, I want to acknowledge how disheartening it has been to see a profession that I greatly respect — public service — be so utterly corrupted, abused, and debased by Donald Trump and his cronies.” Lewis said in a statement. “Since he was re-elected, I have struggled to maintain my optimism; but I draw strength and hope for our future from the many amazing people that I have had the great fortune to work with.”
