At today's state-wide primaries, Republican hopeful Samiyah Diaz will be asking for the support of an unlikely group: the Democrats.
Diaz, a Tufts alumna (LA '99), who is running unopposed in the second Suffolk district for the Republican nomination for the state Senate, is also mounting a write-in campaign for the Democratic bid for the same seat.
"Basically I'm trying to reach out to our voters sooner than later," Diaz told the Daily. "Especially the Democrats, who make up over half of the district."
She said she decided to enter the Democratic race when the incumbent, Dianne Wilkerson, failed to gather enough valid signatures to get her name on the ballot, which therefore will be empty.
"Generally every year the person who would have gotten their certified signatures would have gotten on the ballot, but she didn't do that this time," Diaz said.
Though the Democrats' official spot will be empty, three other Democratic candidates will also wage a write-in campaign, encouraging voters to support their candidate by writing their name on the ballot or affixing a sticker with the candidate's name.
Wilkerson, the incumbent of over a decade, will be among them, along with public school teacher and former state Senate aide Sonia Chang-Díaz and Boston Police detective John Kelleher. Kelleher is the most recent of the challengers, only announcing his intention to run well within the last month of campaigning.
Diaz, widely considered a moderate or even liberal Republican, feels her platform of increased education, safety, and opportunities for small towns and business, can appeal to both Democrats and Republicans.
"Democrat or Republican, it's about getting things done. That's the best way to look at the policies I've been promoting," she said.
To win in a Democratic district, she said, she must cater to the needs of people who don't usually vote Republican.
"You really don't have a lot of conservatives in this district," she said. "Most people are progressive."
Diaz decided to vie for the nomination because of her disappointment with Wilkerson, who has been plagued by controversy over the years.
During her time in office, Wilkerson pled guilty to four misdemeanors for income tax violations and was sent to a halfway house after violating the terms of a house arrest, according to the Boston Globe.
According to Diaz, "people have been noting [Wilkerson's] character flaws from the beginning," but have not had another alternative in the past. "This is a different year because now they have a choice," she said.
Many, however, including current Democratic legislators and her Democratic opponents, call Diaz's tactics political gamesmanship and question whether her strategy toes ethical lines.
"I think seeing someone trying to game the system is an embarrassment for that particular candidate and I do think it's insulting to the political process," Carl Sciortino (LA '00), a current Democratic state representative, told the Daily.
Sciortino, who represents Massachusetts' 34th Middlesex district, which includes neighborhoods in Medford and Somerville, feels confident that the voters will see this clearly and act appropriately.
Melissa Threadgill, a spokesperson for Sonia Chang-Díaz, one of the other write-in candidates, agrees. "It's a Democratic primary and she's a Republican," she said. "There is a difference between being a Democrat and a Republican and we think the voters will know that."
On campus, reaction to Diaz's decision has been split among party lines. According to Jordan Greene, president of the Tufts Republicans, Diaz made a smart political move by entering a primary that will hand her an uncontested general election if she wins.
"It's a legitimate political tactic. Democrats don't have to vote for her if they don't want to," he said. "If the Democrats can't even win their own primary, then they're asking for it."
Although he admits that Diaz takes many liberal positions, he is not afraid that she will change her positions to become a back-door Democrat by appealing to the opposite party.
"She's made it clear to the [Tufts Republicans] that she's a Republican...so I see this more as a tactic that she's using to avoid a general election," said Greene.
Kayt Norris, the president of the Tufts Democrats, however, is not as comfortable with the candidate's tactics.
"I think it's a backhanded way of winning a race she has no chance of winning," she said.
She added that if Diaz wants to appeal to Democrats, then she should switch her party affiliation.
"She's an incredibly liberal Republican, almost to the point where it seems to me that she's an opportunist," she said. "If she wants to be a Democrat, then be a Democrat. I think that you can't have it both ways."
Norris, however, is confident that the voters will select a Democratic candidate, preferably Wilkerson, she said.
"Although she's had a number of blips on her record, most of her constituents will tell you that as far as representing her district, she's done a great job," she said.
Sciortino agrees, adding that though Wilkerson needs to be held accountable for her mistakes, she is still a respected legislator.
"I hope that her campaign committee and she can clean up that mess and let her continue to be the powerful and good [senator] we all know she is," he said.
Until polls close today, however, the only real certainty in the race is that Diaz will secure the Republican nomination without opposition.
"It's hard not to win when you don't have anyone running against you," said Diaz.
