Boomer Amaral Challenges Sen. Michael Rodrigues for South Coast State Senate Seat

The following is a press release from Gabriel Boomer Amaral

Gabriel “Boomer” Amaral, a father, an Army National Guard veteran, realtor, and longtime community advocate, today announced he will run for State Senate in the First Bristol & Plymouth District, challenging incumbent State Sen. Michael Rodrigues.

Amaral, who won election as the district’s Republican State Committeeman in 2024, said the race is about whether the South Coast keeps getting “politician answers” or finally gets “working-people results.”

“Everywhere I go—job sites, diners, small businesses, youth sports—people tell me the same thing: Massachusetts is getting harder to live in, harder to raise a family in, and harder to run a business in,” Amaral said.

“Beacon Hill keeps telling us everything is fine. It’s not fine. I’m running to fight for the people who punch a clock, run a small shop, serve our country, and just want a fair shot.”

Why Amaral says he’s the right candidate for the job!

Amaral points to a record of stepping up locally—running competitive campaigns, showing up in public debates on crime and homelessness, and advocating for better preparedness and accountability in city services.

In 2025, Amaral ran citywide in Fall River and finished within about 225 votes of winning the mayor’s race—an outcome he says proved that working families are ready for change and ready to be heard.

Amaral’s campaign will focus on what he calls the “three-pocket test” for working people:

1 Too expensive to live and work here (taxes, fees, and cost-of-living pressure).

Amaral argues Beacon Hill keeps layering on costs while families get squeezed. He noted that a small-business scorecard from NFIB showed Rodrigues voted against the organization’s position on most major small-business issues reviewed in 2019–2020 (14% alignment), which Amaral says reflects a pattern of putting Beacon Hill politics ahead of Main Street.

2 Public safety and street disorder—crime, drugs, and homelessness—are treated like talking points.

Amaral says families see problems getting worse and feel ignored. In a televised mayoral debate, Amaral pressed the need for real plans on homelessness and mental-health-driven street issues, not “press-release solutions.” It’s a shame innocent people are being victimized on our streets like former Mayor Will Flanagan.

3 One-party control in Boston means no accountability—just bigger budgets and backroom decision-making.

Rodrigues is Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and describes that role as leading the effort to craft the state’s budget. Amaral argues that the same leadership team that writes the budgets and sets priorities is the same team voters should hold accountable when working families feel left behind.

“Senator Rodrigues is not just ‘a vote’—he’s part of the Beacon Hill problem that sets the direction of the state,” Amaral said. “If you think Massachusetts is on the wrong track—too expensive, too soft on crime, too controlled by insiders—then you can’t keep re-electing the people who run the system.”

A “Paycheck-First” agenda for the South Coast

Amaral said his campaign will be centered on:

• Relief for working families (lowering the cost burden of state decisions on everyday life)

• Backing police, firefighters, and first responders with practical support and accountability

• Protecting small businesses and trades from policies that make it harder to hire, grow, and stay open

“This campaign is for the guy leaving the house at 5 a.m., the woman working two jobs, the small-business owner trying to make payroll, and the veteran who just wants government to respect the people it serves,” Amaral said.