Massachusetts is so dominated by Democrats that primaries are often more contentious than general elections.

But this year, it appears that Alice Wolf's growl has scared off all of her opponents.

Wolf ran unopposed in yesterday's Democratic primary and will faces no Republican opponent in November's general election race for state representative for north and west Cambridge.

Wolf was first elected in 1996, when she fought now-Mayor Anthony D. Galluccio for the Democratic nomination--a race decided by just 90 votes.

And two years ago, Galluccio fought her again. This time, her margin was a bit more favorable. The 1998 victory was decided by roughly 900 votes.

This year, Galluccio, it seems, is content to hold his position as mayor.

Wolf, meanwhile, now seeks her third term as state representative for the district that produced two speakers of the House in Massachusetts: Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr.--who was later Speaker of the U.S. House--and Charles F. Flaherty, who resigned in 1996 after pleading guilty to tax fraud. Flaherty had held the district for three decades.

Wolf says she abides by the "all politics is local" philosophy, inherited from her famed predecessor, O'Neill. Before becoming a representative, Wolf was a four-time member of the Cambridge School Committee, five-time city councillor and mayor of the city.