Analysis: Party in the 11th Hampden…Like It’s an Open Seat…?
UPDATED 4/3/26 3:30PM: To include a response from Coakley.
It could get crowded on this ballot and it may not even be an open seat. (Clockwise from top left, McKnight, Williams, Coakley, Wright, images from candidates, WWLP still via YouTube & WMP&I)
From the moment educator Johnnie McKnight came less than 250 votes of unseating 11th Hampden State Rep Bud Williams in 2025, it seemed highly like he would try again. Indeed, last December, he announced he would do exactly that. What may have been more surprising was that a small crowd would join him to take on the longtime fixture of Springfield politics.
Even as he was preparing to launch his rematch, rumors of a field of challengers beyond McKnight began to swell. Since ballot papers became available in February, the number of challengers has grown to three. In addition to McKnight, Nicole Coakley, who has run for citywide office, and community activist and motivational speaker Donnell Wright have launched campaigns.
As of Thursday, all three challengers and Williams had pulled papers. The office of Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin, who administers state elections, said none had returned their signatures sheets yet.
McKnight and Williams’s campaigns were already registered with the Office of Campaign & Political Finance from last cycle. Coakley switched her campaign to the 11th Hampden early last month. Wright has not yet filed with OCPF, which means he cannot raise or spend money on his race.
The 11th Hampden covers Bay, McKnight, Old Hill and Upper Hill neighborhoods as well as a sweep of East Forest Park and Pine Point. Its periphery reaches into East Springfield, Forest Park and 16 Acres. The district is entirely within Springfield.
The 11th Hampden as of January 2023 (via malegislature.gov)
Williams is only one of several Democratic incumbents in the 413 facing primary challenges this year. While the reasons vary from challenger to challenger, these bids reflect a dyspeptic mood among many base Democrats.
Williams did not respond to an email requesting comment on the number of challengers this year.
When he launched his new bid, McKnight claimed that things had only gotten worse since 2024. He added that the district needed representation that listens to the community.
Coakley, in a recent interview with New England Public Media discussing her past bids for City Council, she offered thoughts that might apply to a state rep bid.
“We can’t say we want change when we keep putting the same people back in place,” she told the public broadcaster. “Change looks like putting new voices at the table.”
In an email to WMP&I, Coakley said she respected Williams’s service and said she did not want to turn this campaign negative. However, she questioned whether his reelection would contribute to the changes the region needs. For her part, she committed to be a presence not just when elections are happening.
“I entered this race because I believe that WE, the residents of the 11th Hampden District deserve proactive, accessible, and community centered leadership, regardless of whether an incumbent is seeking reelection or not,” she wrote. “I’ve been hearing across the district, people are ready for a CHANGE, increased engagement, and leadership that meets them where they are.”
However, there does seem to be something more afoot in the 11th Hampden. While the desire for change is at play in the other races, those challenging fields are much smaller, usually only a single candidate staring down the incumbent.
Moreover, those running in the 11th Hampden have the potential to run serious campaigns with just a bit of funding. All three have a degree of profile as community and/or political activists. Both Coakley and McKnight have run for office in recent years.
Of course, McKnight’s most recent bid was against Williams himself. While unsuccessful, it was close enough to reinvigorate McKnight’s political ambitions and may have shattered the presumption of imperviousness the incumbent enjoyed. There are reasons specific to the 2024 cycle that may have left Williams vulnerable. Yet, the national mood may give his opponents an opening this year.
Are Springfield voters grumpy? If so, that might not be good news for Williams. (WMP&I)
The national restlessness among Democratic voters has not missed Springfield, an overwhelmingly blue city. Four incumbents lost reelection in last year’s municipal election, and several more had close calls. Under those conditions, it might make sense for more to join the fray to oust Williams.
Still, few things draw this many serious candidates to run against a longstanding incumbent like any open seat. Williams is running as of now. WMP&I can confirm he is actively circulating his petition sheets to get on the ballot. That has not stopped some from speculating he may not run.
As the rumors go, were Williams to retire he would endorse his aide Malo Brown, who is also the City Councilor for Ward 4. Such a pinch hit would likely happen just before the deadline to certify signatures with the Springfield Election Commission. Critics accused Williams’s predecessor Ben Swan of pulling a such a switcheroo for his son, Ben Swan, Jr.
The problem is there are already candidates running. Another issue with such a plot is Brown would be unlikely to inherit his boss’s name recognition. Williams has held elective office for 30 of the last 32 years. For much of that time, he was an at-large city councilor. Brown only represents Ward 4, anchored in the city’s geographic center. While Brown survived a challenge to his Council seat last year, his own primary challenge to State Senator Adam Gomez in 2024 may not endear him to a wider swath of Springfield.
Williams bowing out is only the stuff of speculation for now. The more pertinent question is whether the size of the field undermines the displacement of Williams. It is hard to say at this stage.
Williams performed best in the parts of the district he has represented the longest and, to an extent, the historically Black precincts in the district. (All of the candidates thus far are Black.) More candidates could drain away votes from Williams’s base. Alternatively, a big field could fracture the vote in the parts of the district that were willing to give Williams the boot two years ago.
Of course, the actual ballot is not set. With no candidates certified—at least as of Thursday afternoon—it may be too soon to make any assumptions who will be on September 1 primary ballot.