Hyde Park candidate challenging Sen. Mike Rush

After eight years in the House and ten in the Senate, West Roxbury Democrat Mike Rush was rewarded in 2021 with a position in leadership, serving as majority whip. This year, after 23 years total in office, Rush is facing a challenger — his first since 2008.

Speaking to supporters in January at the Roundhead Brewing Company Taproom in Hyde Park, student borrower advocate Persis Yu said she would fight to make the Legislature more responsive to the needs of Massachusetts residents.

“We live in the richest state, in the richest country in the world, and yet housing is out of reach for too many,” she said. “Childcare costs more than college. Utility bills are skyrocketing. Groceries get more expensive every single week. This is not inevitable. These are not acts of God or forces beyond our control. These are policy choices.”

Since graduating law school in 2009, Yu has worked as an advocate for people with student loans — as a staff attorney and director of the Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project, as a policy director and then as deputy executive director and managing council for the nonprofit Protect Borrowers.

Bonnie Latreille, a former investigator at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, described Yu as “smart, principled and relentless.”

“We were getting a lot of praise from consumer advocates,” Latreille recalled, speaking to Yu’s supporters in Hyde Park. “She was the only advocate to come into our office and say, ‘You’re not doing enough. You’re leaving people out. Do better.’”

Rush, who has made veterans affairs a key issue, has drawn fire from progressives in the Norfolk Suffolk district he represents, which includes West Roxbury, parts of Jamaica Plain and Hyde Park as well as the towns of Dedham, Westwood, Norwood and Walpole.

In previous years, Rush earned an F and D minus from the group Progressive Massachusetts, based largely on his opposition to criminal justice reform and legislation backing women’s reproductive rights. Since he was appointed majority whip, his votes have aligned with Senate leadership and he has earned a B minus from the group.

Yu’s supporters aren’t satisfied.

“Massachusetts needs to be a model for what can be done in a Democratic state,” said Roy Karp a West Roxbury Democrat who attended Yu’s campaign kickoff. “Mike Rush has not shown that kind of leadership over the last two decades. He hasn’t stood up for immigrants. He hasn’t stood up for people of color. He hasn’t stood up for the LGBTQ community.”

Rush did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

In her remarks to supporters, Yu did not mention Rush, but instead took aim at the Legislature.

“The Massachusetts legislature is failing to meet this moment,” she said. “Beacon Hill is one of the least transparent, least effective legislatures in the country. Decisions are made behind closed doors. Power is concentrated in leadership, while bold solutions die without any accountability. And while the Legislature is protecting itself, families are left to fend for themselves.”

The majority of residents of the district — nearly 100,000 — live in suburban communities. Those towns saw a relatively significant vote for Trump in 2024. In Walpole Trump had 42% of the vote, compared to 20% in Boston. But in a Democratic primary, the electorate can tend to be more left-leaning than in a general election, a dynamic that could play in Yu’s favor.

West Roxbury political activist Rachel Poliner said with the current policies of the Trump administration filtering into local politics, voters throughout the district could be more inclined to vote progressive.

“With the current moment in history, people are paying attention and connecting the dots between affordability and equity issues,” she said. “West Roxbury has changed, and the suburbs have too.”

Rush last year raised $81,261 and has $68,763 on hand, according to the Office of Campaign and Public Finance. Yu raised $67,604 and has $50,327 on hand.

While Yu has yet to roll out any high-profile endorsements since announcing her plans to run last year, Rush in January was endorsed by Mayor Michelle Wu.

Yu told her supporters she is willing to take on people in power to fight for progressive values, citing her work as a student borrower advocate and her record of suing Republicans and Democrats alike.”

“Right now, we need state legislators who are willing to stand up to their own leadership, push back against corporate lobbyists and put families before billionaires,” she said. “This is not a time to wait your turn. This is not a time for quiet deference. This is the time for change. I will not wait my turn. I will meet this moment.”