It became famous as the most Irish political home on the planet but Southie, as in, South Boston, may be about to elect a Haitian American and one of two women over an Irish American in a key state senate race.

The three candidates are state Representative Linda Dorcena Forry, 39, a Haitian-American; state Representative Nick Collins, 30, a former Hart aide from South Boston; and Maureen Dahill, 43, a fourth-generation South Boston resident .

Demographic changes have meant that Collins, representing the old guard, may be overtaken by Forry or Dahill, according to the Boston Globe.

Low turnout seems certain but the possibility that Collins may lose is real. Dahill tries to identify with a much younger hip group that is literally changing the face of Southie while Forry, married to Irish American journalist Bill Forry editor of the Dorchester Reporter, has solid community credentials and Irish links.

As a result of population changes Southie has changed and may be about to elect its first woman to the state senate.

“I want to tell people that this is not a Southie seat, this is the First Suffolk Senate seat,” Forry said. Both she and Collins have also picked up endorsements from trade unions and community leaders.

Collins said he’s different from the old Irish ward politicians, “I’m a whole different generation.”
Whether that will be enough to hang on remains to be seen.