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The 2nd Middlesex District is one of 40 electoral districts that each send one senator to the Massachusetts Senate. The district is represented by state Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen of Somerville, a Democrat.

The Massachusetts Senate district map has included a 2nd Middlesex District since district representation was adopted in 1857, always in the Cambridge-Somerville-Waltham area, though the exact lineup of cities and towns has changed over the years.

Cities and towns
Under the apportionment plan of 2011, the 2nd Middlesex District consists of all of Medford and Somerville; wards 9, 10 and 11 in the western end of Cambridge; and precincts 4, 5, 6 and 7, the western half of Winchester. The district is in the southeastern corner of Middlesex County, only a few miles north of Boston.

History
The 2nd Middlesex District can trace its history back to the original state senatorial districts created in 1857. Before the 1857 apportionment, senators were elected by county, with Middlesex County electing three to five senators at-large.

1857-1896: Northwest of Boston
When the current system of single-member districts was enacted in 1857, Middlesex County was split into six districts. The original 2nd Middlesex District occupied a territory partially overlapping today's version of the district, but mainly northwest, rather than due north, of Boston. It included all of Cambridge, as well as Brighton (before its annexation to Boston), Waltham, Watertown and West Cambridge (present-day Arlington. The land that would become the town of Belmont in 1859 was also part of this district.

Brighton and Cambridge were moved to the 3rd Middlesex District in the redistricting of 1866, and the 2nd Middlesex District expanded to the northeast. It now consisted of Belmont, Malden, Medford, Somerville, Waltham, Watertown and West Cambridge (Arlington).

Redistricting in 1876 dropped the towns on the 2nd Middlesex District's eastern edge and added in the west. The district now consisted of Arlington, Belmont, Lexington, Newton, Waltham and Watertown.

New lines in 1886 dropped Arlington but added two more towns to the northwest. The 2nd Middlesex District now included Belmont, Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Newton, Waltham and Watertown.

1896-1974: Cambridge and neighbors
Radical changes to the senate district map in 1896 brought an entirely new 2nd Middlesex District, consisting solely of four wards in the city of Cambridge. The district continued to consist of a part of Cambridge after the next redistricting, in 1906.

In 1916, the 2nd Middlesex District was reconfigured with eight wards in Cambridge and the entire town of Belmont. In 1939, the district's footprint in Cambridge was reduced to seven wards, but two wards in Somerville were added, along with all of Belmont. A small adjustment was made in 1960, with the 2nd Middlesex District now containing Belmont, eight wards of Cambridge, and one ward of Somerville.

The lines drawn in 1970 placed kept Belmont and six Cambridge wards in the district, adding four wards of Waltham and Ward 22 of Boston, in the Brighton neighborhood. Though Boston is in Suffolk County, the district retained the "2nd Middlesex District" name.

Francis X. McCann of Cambridge was elected senator in this district in 1970.

1975-1988: Medford and Somerville
Redistricting in 1973 resulted in an entirely new 2nd Middlesex District, containing six wards of Medford and all of Somerville.

McCann was re-elected in the new Middlesex and Suffolk District. The new 2nd Middlesex District inherited as its senator Denis L. McKenna of Somerville, who was re-elected with no opposition in 1974 and 1976.

In 1977, redistricting moved the rest of the Medford wards into the district, making its boundaries coterminous with Medford and Somerville.

McKenna was re-elected with no opposition in 1980. In 1982, he narrowly survived a four-way race in the Democratic primary election, polling 43.6% to Salvatore R. Albano's 42.9%.

When McKenna did not run for re-election in 1984, another four-way primary election ensued, and Albano was again a close runner-up, with 35.5% of the vote. Although Vincent J. Piro captured the Democratic nomination with 36.1% of the vote, Albano won as a write-in candidate in the general election.

Two years later, Albano won a rematch primary election with 50.7% of the Democratic vote, against Piro's 42.5%, in a three-way race. His Republican challenger that year, James W. Lakey, had prevailed 64.7% to 34.9% in a primary election against George L. Leavitt Jr.

1989-2010: Medford, Somerville and Winchester
The redistricting of 1987 added a third town to the district, which now included Medford, Somerville and Winchester.

Albano was re-elected in 1988 with no November opponent after fending off a challenge by John F. Healy, 62.4% to 37.4%.

In 1990, Albano faced opponents in both the primary and general elections. He won a three-way Democratic primary with 47.1% of the vote.

The 1992 election was a rematch of 1990, as Albano captured 36.8% of the Democratic primary vote to emerge from a field of five candidates as the party's nominee.

New lines drawn in 1993 kept all of Medford and Winchester in the district, and added one ward of Woburn, but slightly curtailed the 2nd Middlesex District's reach in Somerville, with two precincts reassigned to the Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex District.

Shannon was re-elected with no opposition in 1996. Shortly after the 1996 election, he changed parties, and was re-elected with no opposition in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004 as a Democrat.

He died in April 2005, prompting a special election. Somerville state Representative Patricia D. Jehlen emerged as the victor with 38% in a four-way race for the Democratic nomination. The special general election was held Sept. 27, 2005.

Jehlen was re-elected with no opposition in 2006 and 2008.

2012-present: Medford, Somerville and more
Redistricting in 2011 dropped Woburn from the 2nd Middlesex District, along with the eastern half of Winchester. Additions to the district included the remaining two precincts of Somerville, to bring the entire city within the district, and the western three wards of Cambridge, for the first time since the 1970s.

Jehlen was re-elected with no opposition in 2012.

In 2016, Jehlen fended off a primary challenge with 79.6% of the Democratic vote. She was re-elected without an opponent in November.