The field is set for a special election to fill a Massachusetts state Senate seat formerly held by now-Westfield Mayor Don Humason.
Westfield State Representative John Velis is the lone Democrat in the running, while business owner John Cain of Southwick is the only Republican.
Both will run unopposed in the March 3 primary.
Velis said already being on Beacon Hill gives him a leg up if he's elected to the state Senate.
"If anybody tells you experience doesn't matter, they're just living under a rock, because it does," Velis said. "At the most fundamental level, being an elected official is all about building relationships."
Cain said he's confident in his own past, and plans to use his opponent's legislative record against him.
"I'm going to try to use my business experience, and my military experience, as well as his [Velis's] Beacon Hill experience, to show my voters that his votes might not be the way he's promised his constituents," Cain said.
The Senate district covers 11 communities in Hampden and Hampshire Counties.
The special election for the remainder of Humason's term, which runs through the end of this year, is March 31.
The winner of this race would potentially have to run again this year, as regular elections are scheduled for September for the primary, and November for the general election.
