Democrat Cindy F. Friedman is running for reelection to the Massachusetts State Senate representing the Fourth Middlesex District in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.

Friedman has held the seat since 2017, according to her campaign website.

Candidate information

Party: Democratic

Residence: Arlington, Massachusetts, where she has lived since 1980, according to her campaign website

Education: Bachelor's degree in education, Roger Williams University; master's degree in special education, Lesley University

Experience and public service

Friedman's background spans education, political organizing and elected office, according to her campaign website.

She worked as an elementary school teacher and later as an executive in the high-tech industry. She served as a community organizer at Planned Parenthood and as local campaign coordinator for the Deval Patrick gubernatorial campaign. She also managed Don Berwick's statewide gubernatorial campaign.

In Arlington, Friedman co-founded the Arlington Education Foundation and founded Schools are a Priority in Our Town, known as SPOT. She chaired the Arlington No Place for Hate Committee and served as a Town Meeting member.

Before winning her Senate seat, Friedman served as chief of staff in the office of Senator Ken Donnelly starting in 2009. In the Senate, she has chaired the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, and the Senate Committee on Steering and Policy. She has served as vice chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Friedman's own candidate responses as listed on her campaign website and provided via BallotReady.

Healthcare: Friedman said she supports exploring single-payer systems, which she said have "a track record of reducing inequities in healthcare, improving access to care and reducing costs for families, businesses, municipalities and states." She said she wants greater resources for mental health care and to divert people who interact with law enforcement away from the criminal justice system and into treatment.

Transportation: Friedman said the MBTA needs greater infrastructure investment. She opposes privatization. She said on her campaign website that the state cannot continue to try to save money "at the expense of our workers and riders, while making no effort to invest in our transportation system to improve service."

Housing: Friedman said she wants to increase housing production, particularly affordable housing, address gentrification and reform zoning regulations to streamline development.

Education: Friedman said she is committed to fully funding public schools as recommended by the Foundation Budget Review Commission.

Environment: Friedman said she supports bills to promote green infrastructure, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create clean energy jobs. She said she backs allocating 1 percent of the state budget to environmental agencies.

Sources: Public campaign materials, published candidate profiles and the public records linked above. Policy statements are attributed to the candidate; funding or implementation details are included where available.

The Lexington-Concord Courier did not receive a direct questionnaire response from the candidate and does not endorse candidates.