New Bedford’s Cameron Costa has launched a campaign to run for Massachusetts State Representative in the 9th Bristol District against longtime incumbent Chris Markey.

Costa announced today that he would run against Markey in the September 6 Democratic primary for the district seat, which includes all of Dartmouth and pieces of the North End of New Bedford.

Markey, a Dartmouth resident, has held the seat since 2011.

“My decision to run for state representative in the 9th Bristol District was made with careful
consideration after speaking to voters from across the district,” Costa said in a release. “Many voters have expressed frustration with the current state leadership and felt that the SouthCoast has been left out of the conversation on advancing our state forward on numerous issues.”

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Costa has been actively involved in issues such as education, mental health, and workers’ rights. He was appointed by Governor Charlie Baker in 2021 to serve on the Board of Higher Education, and in that capacity he recently visited WBSM to discuss rising education costs for college students.

He also serves as a board member on the New Bedford Site Advisory Board for the Department of Mental Health, as well as a trustee for the AFSCME Council 93 Local 72.

The 20-year-old graduated from Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech in the Culinary Arts Program. He earned an associate degree in Business Administration from Bristol Community College and will graduate from UMass Dartmouth with a degree in Management: Leadership and History in May.

His platform can be seen on his website, CameronCosta.org.

Markey is the latest SouthCoast legislator to face a primary challenger. Rep. Bill Straus of Mattapoisett, who has held the 10th Bristol seat since 1993, is facing a challenge from Fairhaven’s Rick Trapilo in September. Robert McConnell of Fairhaven, a Republican, has already announced he will challenge for the 10th Bristol seat in the November general election.

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