State Rep Race In Tewksbury, Wilmington Enters Stretch Run

TEWKSBURY, MA -- Understanding how James Miceli held his state representative seat from the time he was first elected in 1977 until his death in April is knowing that Miceli understood the district, which includes Wilmington and all but one precinct in Tewksbury. Miceli was a Democrat, but a conservative Democrat who supported immigration enforcement and the death penalty while opposing abortion and same-sex marriage.

The district is conservative -- both towns backed Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election -- seemingly giving an edge to Republican nominee Pina Prinzvalli. Prinzvalli, 34, announced her candidacy more than a year ago, making her the only candidate to enter the race before Miceli's death. Before Miceli died, Prinzvalli challenged his conservative bona fides, noting that he and other legislators voted to give themselves a raise. Throughout the campaign, she has stayed on a "taxpayers-first message" and has closely aligned herself with Geoff Diehl, the Republican challenging Elizabeth Warren for U.S. Senate.

But this is still Massachusetts, so Democrats still carry weight in local races. Her opponent, Dave Robertson, 28, was Miceli's legislative aide and won a hard-fought Democratic primary against four opponents by effectively getting the three older and more established politicians in the race to split the vote.

There's a wild card in the race: at 65, independent Patricia Meuse is older than her two opponents. And as a representative from Tewksbury on the Shawsheen Valley Technical High School Committee, she is also the only candidate who has run for -- and won -- political office before. While Meuse isn't nearly as well-funded as her two opponents, she is, at the very least, in position to play spoiler in the race.

Related story: Candidates Play To Base In State Rep Debate

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Photo by WCTV via Facebook.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).