Two candidates announce campaigns for 2026 2nd Plymouth District state representative race

Longtime Carver Select Board member Sarah Hewins and current Rep. John Gaskey both announced they are running for the 2nd Plymouth District state representative seat in 2026, Thursday, Oct. 23.

The 2nd Plymouth District includes Wareham, Carver and Middleboro and this won’t be the first time the two face off for this seat. In 2024, Hewins ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign against Rep. Gaskey who was the only name on the ballot.

Rep. Gaskey, a Texas native, engineer and 23-year veteran of the Coast Guard, moved to Carver in 2017 where he was elected to the town’s Planning Board.

“I’m a veteran, conservative and a Christian,” Gaskey said. “I’ve got my first year under my belt. I’ve learned a tremendous amount and I am ready to go forward and do some more good.”

Hewins, a Carver resident and longtime democrat, served as the town’s conservation agent for 15 years and did two, five-year terms on Carver’s Planning Board. Currently, Hewins is in her 17th year as a Carver Select Board member.

Her career also includes 10 years as the chair of the seven-town Plymouth/Carver Aquifer Advisory committee and as commissioner for the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District for five years.

“We need better representation in the state house,” Hewins said. “There’s just a lot of problems that need to be addressed.”

Hewins is hosting a meet-and-greet in Wareham Sunday, Oct. 26 at the Pier View Restaurant, 201 Onset Avenue from 2 to 4 p.m.