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The 2nd Plymouth and Bristol District is one of 40 electoral districts that each send one senator to the Massachusetts Senate. The district is represented by state Senator Michael Brady of Brockton, a Democrat.

The district covers Brockton and several suburban towns in Plymouth County, as well as a small portion of Bristol County, and takes its name from these two counties.

The district was formed in the legislative redistricting of 1993. It can trace its history back to the Middle Plymouth District, one of the original senatorial districts formed in 1857, through predecessors such as the 1st Plymouth District and the Plymouth District.

History
Before the 1850s, Massachusetts state senators were elected by county, with Bristol and Plymouth counties each electing two or three. Even after the introduction of single-member state senatorial districts in 1857, the districts tended to stay within county lines.

The northern tier of today's 2nd Plymouth and Bristol District -- Brockton (then called North Bridgewater), Hanover and Whitman (then part of Abington) was assigned to the North Plymouth District. Easton, the only part of today's district in Bristol County, was part of the North Bristol District.

1857-1866: Middle Plymouth
The ancestor of today's 2nd Plymouth and Bristol District was the Middle Plymouth District, which covered eastern and central Plymouth County. Towns in this district included Duxbury, East Bridgewater, Halifax, Hanson, Kingston, Marshfield, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton and West Bridgewater.

1866-1886: 1st Plymouth
When the district lines in Plymouth County were redrawn in 1966, Marshfield became part of the Norfolk and Plymouth District, while the Bridgewaters, Hanson, Halifax and Pembroke were reassigned to the Brockton-based 2nd Plymouth District. The coastal towns were joined with portions of the former South Plymouth District to form the new 1st Plymouth District.

Towns in this district included Carver, Duxbury, Kingston, Lakeville, Marion, Mattapoisett, Middleborough, Plymouth, Plympton, Rochester and Wareham.

Ten years later, the district regained Halifax, Hanson, Marshfield and Pembroke, and expanded north to also include Scituate and South Scituate (now known as Norwell).

1886-1916: 1st Plymouth
A redrawing of the map in 1886 shifted the division of Plymouth County from north-south to east-west. The 1st Plymouth District continued to include Plymouth but now stretched all the way up the South Shore to the Norfolk County line, while the 2nd Plymouth District continued to include Brockton but now reached south as far as Buzzards Bay.

The new 1st Plymouth District included Abington, Cohasset, Duxbury, Hanover, Hanson, Hingham, Hull, Kingston, Marshfield, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Rockland, Scituate, South Scituate (Norwell) and Whitman.

Redistricting in 1896 added Carver and East Bridgewater to the 1st Plymouth District, but otherwise kept the same towns as in 1886. The redistricting of 1906 made no changes in the Plymouth County senate districts.

1916-1960: Plymouth
In the reapportionment of 1916, the 1st Plymouth District was eliminated. The northern towns were reassigned to the new Norfolk and Plymouth District; towns including and south of the Hanson-Pembroke-Duxbury line became part of the Cape and Plymouth District.

East Bridgewater was reassigned to the last remaining district entirely in Plymouth County, the former 2nd Plymouth District, now known simply as the Plymouth District. This district included Bridgewater, Brockton, East Bridgewater, Lakeville, Marion, Mattapoisett, Middleborough, Rochester, Wareham and West Bridgewater.

Redistricting in 1926 added Carver to this district but moved the South Coast towns, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester and Wareham, to the Cape and Plymouth District.

The new maps drawn in 1939 moved Carver back to the Cape and Plymouth District.

In 1948, the district expanded to the east, and for the next 12 years included Bridgewater, Brockton, Carver, East Bridgewater, Halifax, Lakeville, Middleborough, Plympton and West Bridgewater.

1960-1970: Plymouth (and Norfolk)
Redrawn maps in 1960 centered the district on Brockton, with the Lakeville, Middleborough and Plympton moving to the Norfolk and Plymouth District. The Plymouth District gained towns adjoining Brockton to the north and east, including two towns in Norfolk County. The district now consisted of Abington, Avon, Bridgewater, Brockton, East Bridgewater, Rockland, Stoughton and West Bridgewater.

1971-1978: Plymouth and Norfolk
Bridgewater was moved to the 1st Bristol District, and East and West Bridgewater to the Norfolk and Bristol District, in the redistricting of 1970. The Plymouth District retained only Abington, Avon, Brockton, Rockland and Stoughton.

Senator James F. Burke was re-elected in this realigned district in 1970.

Burke did not run for re-election in 1972. Instead, Brockton City Councilor Anna Buckley narrowly defeated state Representative Robert S. Creedon Jr. for the Democratic nomination, 7,890 to 7,806, and then soundly defeated the Republican candidate in November.

This district's name finally acknowledged the addition of Avon and Stoughton by changing in 1973 to the Plymouth and Norfolk District, though its boundaries remained the same. Buckley was re-elected with no opponents in 1974 and 1976.

1979-1988: 1st Plymouth
Redistricting in 1977 reassigned Avon to the Norfolk District and Stoughton to the Norfolk and Suffolk District, and paired Brockton with a line of Plymouth County towns to the northeast: Abington, Brockton, Hanover, Norwell and Rockland. In a reversal of the 19th century naming scheme, this Brockton-based district was named 1st Plymouth District, while the redrawn district to the south and east was called the 2nd Plymouth District.

Senator Anna Buckley was re-elected in this district with no opponents in 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984 and 1986.

1989-1994: Plymouth
No changes were made to the boundaries of the district in the reapportionment of 1987, but the name was changed to the Plymouth District.

Buckley did not run for re-election in 1988. For the open seat, Democrats chose Brockton state Representative Michael C. Creedon over Brockton City Councilor Greg Buckley, the outgoing senator's son-in-law, and Brockton mayoral aide John R. Buckley Jr., of no relation.

Creedon survived a closer race for re-election in 1990.

The election of 1992 was a rematch of the 1990 race, but with a wider margin for Creedon.

1995-2002: 2nd Plymouth and Bristol
In the redistricting of 1993, the former Plymouth District was enlarged and gained a portion of Bristol County, prompting a change in name. The new 2nd Plymouth and Bristol District now included the southern half of Abington, Brockton, East Bridgewater, the northern half of Easton, Hanover, the southern half of Rockland, and Whitman. Norwell, and the northern halves of Abington and Rockand, were reassigned to the Norfolk and Plymouth District.

Creedon was re-nominated for the senate after winning the Democratic primary, 5,832 to 4,909, over Anne M. McCormack of Brockton. He then faced a Republican challenge from one of the new towns in the district.

Creedon did not run for re-election in 1996, having been appointed to a judgeship. Instead, his brother Robert S. Creedon Jr. was nominated after beating Michael J. Benjamino, 6,183	to 2,439, in the primary election.

Creedon was re-elected with no opponents in 1998 and 2000.

2003-2012: 2nd Plymouth and Bristol
The 2nd Plymouth and Bristol District shifted to the southeast in the new maps drawn in 2001. Abington and Rockland were entirely removed from the district, as were portions of Easton and East Bridgewater. The resulting district contained Brockton, three-quarters of East Bridgewater, the northeastern corner of Easton, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson and Whitman.

Robert S. Creedon Jr. was re-elected as the district's senator with no opponents in 2002. He faced his first contest in the redrawn district in 2004.

Creedon was re-elected with no opponents in 2006. In 2008, he decided not to run for re-election, and instead to pursue election as the Plymouth County clerk.

Brockton state Representative Thomas P. Kennedy was the only candidate for the senate seat, and was elected in November 2008, and then re-elected with no opposition in 2010.

One additional town, Plympton, was added on the district's southeastern end in the new maps of 2011. Kennedy was re-elected in this district with no opposition in 2012. He saw his first competitive senate race two years later.

Kennedy died in office in June 2015, prompting a special election that November. Again, a Brockton state representative won the Democratic primary, with Michael D. Brady defeating Joseph Lynch, 3,259 to 461. The Republicans also nominated a sitting state representative. Also on the ballot was an unenrolled (politically independent) candidate.

Brady was re-elected with no opponents in 2016. He again faced a Republican opponent in 2018.