Middlesex County Sample Ballot & Voter Guide 2026

On the September 1, 2026 Massachusetts state primary ballot; a plurality wins the nomination and voters not enrolled in a party may take either party's ballot, per the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Incumbent Marian Ryan faces her former cold case chief David Solet in a Democratic contest that effectively decides the office, with no Republican running, per the Boston Globe.

• Marian T. Ryan · DemocraticIncumbent▾

  Marian T. Ryan has been Middlesex District Attorney since 2013 and is a career trial and appellate prosecutor seeking a fourth term, per the Waltham Times. She runs on cash bail reform for low-level offenses, diversion programs, and her refusal to back mandatory minimums, per Axios Boston.

  Priorities: Not requesting cash bail in low-level nonviolent cases, per Axios Boston · Juvenile, young adult, and drug diversion plus restorative justice programming, per her campaign materials · Opposing mandatory minimum sentences while prosecuting the county's most violent cases, per Axios Boston
• David Marc Solet · Democratic▾

  David Marc Solet is a career prosecutor of 24 years in the Middlesex District Attorney's Office who led its Cold Case Homicide Unit from 2019 to 2025 and was named 2025 Middlesex County Prosecutor of the Year, per the Boston Globe. He argues the office relies on outdated tactics, pointing to a drop in gun-trafficking convictions, per Axios Boston; his campaign cites more than 50 endorsements from police unions and pu

  Priorities: A dedicated crime gun unit targeting illegal firearms trafficking, per Axios Boston and his campaign site · Closing statute of limitations loopholes for cold-case sexual assault victims, per his campaign site · Tougher pretrial detention rules for the most serious offenders, per his campaign site

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On the September 1, 2026 Massachusetts state primary ballot; a plurality wins the nomination and voters not enrolled in a party may take either party's ballot, per the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The only certified candidate in either party.

• Tara E. DeCristofaro · DemocraticIncumbent▾

  Tara E. DeCristofaro is Register of the Middlesex Probate and Family Court, which serves 54 cities and towns and is described as the busiest such court in New England, per the Somerville Times. Before her 2009 inauguration she was a deputy assistant register who directed technology training that modernized the registry, per the Somerville Times.