By Yawu Miller, Bay State Banner<\/p>\n
That state Rep. Angelo Scaccia has challengers is not a surprise. The conservative-leaning Hyde Park Democrat was first elected in 1973 and represents a district with a voting population that has shifted from majority Italian American to majority people of color.<\/span><\/p>\n Among those who have pulled papers to take on Scaccia, one of the longest-serving representatives in the House, are criminal justice reform activist Segun Idowu and former Women\u2019s Bar Association president Gretchen Van Ness.<\/span><\/p>\n But Scaccia isn\u2019t the only long-term incumbent House member facing a challenge. Jamaica Plain Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez and South End Rep. Byron Rushing are facing their first challengers in years. Rushing\u2019s opponent, Jonathan Santiago, is a physician working at Boston Medical Center who is active in progressive causes and in the Ward 9 Democratic Committee. Sanchez\u2019s opponent, Nika Elugardo, a former legislative aide to Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, has led anti-human-trafficking and youth violence prevention campaigns.<\/span><\/p>\n Rep. Liz Malia, who easily fended off a challenge from former radio host Charles Clemmons Muhammad in 2016, is facing a challenge from Ture Turnbull, executive director of MassCare, a campaign for a single-payer healthcare system in the state.<\/span><\/p>\n Along with At-large City Councilor Ayanna Pressley\u2019s challenge to 7th Congressional District Rep. Michael Capuano, District 8 City Councilor Josh Zakim\u2019s challenge to Secretary of State William Galvin, and paralegal Katie Forde\u2019s challenge to Suffolk County Register of Deeds Stephen Murphy, the four House challengers represent a push from the left wing of the Democratic party that mirrors a similar leftward push at the national level with proponents pushing for single-payer health care, wage support for low-income earners and more liberal immigration laws.<\/span><\/p>\n