Rebecca Lynne Rausch (born August 31, 1979) is an American attorney and politician from the

commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents the Norfolk, Worcester and Middlesex district in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

Political career

Becca Rausch served as an elected Needham Town Meeting member from 2017 to 2018. She was first elected to the

state senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

in November 2018. Rausch won her primary with 53% of the vote. She then defeated Republican incumbent Richard Ross with 51% of the vote. Rausch's Committee assignments as a State Senator * Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities * Joint Committee on Elder Affairs * Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government * Joint Committee on Public Health * Joint Committee on Public Service * Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight * Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs The Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus endorsed her as an incumbent candidate in the

2020 Massachusetts general election The 2020 Massachusetts general election was held on November 3, 2020, throughout Massachusetts. Partisan primary, Primary elections were held on September 1, 2020. At the federal level, all nine seats in the United States House of Representat ...

. In 2022, Rausch won reelection over

state Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Shawn Dooley Shawn C. Dooley is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the 9th Norfolk district, succeeding Dan Winslow. The 9th Norfolk District constitutes all or par ...

Personal life

Rausch was raised in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

. She currently lives in

Needham, Massachusetts Needham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb of Boston, its population was 32,091 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census. It is the home of Olin College. History ...

with her husband and two children.

Career

Rausch began her legal career by clerking for Judge Kenneth Laurence of the

Massachusetts Appeals Court The Massachusetts Appeals Court is the intermediate appellate court of Massachusetts. It was created in 1972 as a court of general appellate jurisdiction. The court is located at the John Adams Courthouse at Pemberton Square in Boston, the ...

Education

Rausch graduated from

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

in 2001 with a bachelor's in

American Studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

and a minor in

Women's Studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

, then went on to earn her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Northeastern University School of Law The Northeastern University School of Law is the law school of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. History Northeastern University School of Law was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in 1898 as the f ...

in 2004. She later completed her

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 2011 with a focus in women's health and reproduction and the law. She graduated Shaker High School in

Latham, New York Latham is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place in Albany County, New York, Albany County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 9 in New York, U.S. Route 9 in the Administrative divisions of ...

in 1997.

References

External links