Politics isn’t cheap in Massachusetts.

For the cost of a state Senate campaign these days, a person could probably buy or put a solid down payment on a house. Not in Boston, of course. Don’t kid yourself. Maybe in Texas if anywhere.

But if someone is not head deep in the political inner workings that make up the road to Beacon Hill, it can be easy to forget that the price to run an election can be a barrier. And it is a cost that is not going down anytime soon — in fact, some candidates running this cycle argue it’s on upward swing.

The amount of money it takes to represent people at the State House might be most apparent in what is shaping up to be a must-watch matchup for the Plymouth and Barnstable Senate district, which encompasses most of the South Shore and portions of Cape Cod.

Two of the candidates — Republican Rep. Matt Muratore of Plymouth and Democratic Rep. Dylan Fernandes of Falmouth — acknowledged the need to raise mounds of cash, mingle with key players in the district or their political party, and form connections with local residents who often make up much of a donor base. Kari MacRae, a Republican from Bourne, is also running for the seat.

Muratore said he expects to spend $250,000 all told, a far cry from the roughly $12,000 to $15,000 he spent in 2010 and 2013 running for select board and $30,000 to $35,000 pursuing a House seat each cycle.

“I spend almost two hours every day just calling potential donors since the kickoff in January,” he told the Herald at the State House. “That’s how we’ve been able to raise the money. We call everybody within the state that have contributed large dollars to other campaigns over the last several years. It’s a necessary evil to have the cash to do what you want to do.”

For comparison, Sen. Julian Cyr, a fourth-term Democrat from Truro whose nearby Senate district covers the Cape and Islands, also amassed a huge war chest during the 2022 election cycle.

Cyr did not have an opponent in the Democratic primary but faced a Republican challenger in the general election who lost with 36% of the vote, according to election statistics.

His coffers peaked in August 2022 at more than $312,000 and his largest spending month came in October, when he shelled out more than $100,000 from his campaign account, largely for direct mailers, according to public records.

Cyr said he spent around $300,000 during his first two Senate runs in 2016 and 2018 and the cost of campaigning since then has only increased.

The race between Fernandes and Muratore could be even more expensive, the Truro Democrat said.

“In the Plymouth and Barnstable seat, you have two strong candidates who are really going to make their case to voters in a purple district during a presidential year. So you have to spend that to reach people,” Cyr said in an interview.

Muratore and Fernandes have quickly grown their campaign war chests since the start of the year, with Muratore reporting $46,756 and Fernandes $203,443 as of the end of April. That’s up from $21,761 and $122,137 at the end of December, respectively, according to public records.

Fernandes pointed to the increasing cost of postage over the last six or seven years, which directly affects the price of political mailers.

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“Our average donation is actually quite low and it’s just a tribute to the hundreds of people that have made small dollar contributions to our effort from the district. That helps us get our message out at a time when the cost to get your message out has raised along with all the other costs that have raised for people,” Fernandes said outside the House Chamber.

Muratore said some of the higher costs come from drilling down on reaching potential voters through social media as well as the more typical campaign expenditures that have risen in price over the years.

“It’s mailers, it’s consultants, staff, and it’s social media to get the word out. It’s all about marketing. I have a business degree,” he said. “For me, I always look at these as it’s a marketing campaign and the product is me and my message that we’re trying to get out there to the voters for the primary in September and then November.”

A Beacon Hill moment to chew on…

Hours into a House debate Thursday on a health care bill representatives hoped would address the Steward hospital crisis, Rep. John Lawn walked toward the chamber from the direction of Speaker Ron Mariano’s office.

The top House Democrat on the Health Care Financing Committee had good news for a colleague of his waiting nearby.

“Your amendment is all set,” Lawn said while gesturing at Rep. Kip Diggs, a Barnstable Democrat who almost immediately offered a high-five and fist bump to the person he was talking to outside the House Chamber.

While it is hard to tell what went into negotiating Diggs’ proposal, most of the debate on the 48 amendments filed to the health care bill took place behind closed doors, a common process that plays out across the State House.

Representatives often have to jockey for the ear of leadership or heads of committees in an attempt to get their amendments into bills that are destined to clear the House.

Diggs’ single amendment to the bill was eventually adopted on an unrecorded voice vote.