Daniel Larkosh has had a change of heart since the Democratic primary, a race he won relatively comfortably back in September. In September Mr. Larkosh voiced strong support for a bill that would have placed the Steamship Authority under control of the state department of transportation.

He said this week he has changed his position on the so-called Pacheco bill, which was introduced by Rep. Matt Patrick, one of his backers.

“I don’t support the Pacheco bill, I changed my mind,” he said. “It’s because I talked to the constituents. Quite frankly it opened up the dialogue for me. My goal is to use my influence with the unions to make sure that bill never comes back.”

The Marine Engineers Beneficiaries Association, the principal boat line union, endorsed Mr. Larkosh ahead of the primary and has contributed generously to his campaign.

“I’m here to support the constituents of the district, not to push a union agenda,” Mr. Larkosh said this week.

He said that he still wants to get state money for the boat line, in the form of subsidies, and that he still supports a separate bill that would require binding arbitration for contract disputes, also backed by the unions.

Mr. Larkosh said that conversations with voters on the campaign trail convinced him that support of the transportation bill or otherwise involving the state is not the right choice for the district.

He also would like to take another look at freight going to New Bedford, he added, so long there is no further cost to the Vineyard. He said that for Falmouth, the Steamship Authority is a live issue.

“People do complain about it a lot over there. They expect their state representative to do something,” he said.

He said he also has changed his position on the housing bank, which he previously opposed but now supports.

Mr. Larkosh, 45, was born in Oak Bluffs and graduated from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, later receiving degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Suffolk Law School. He had seven years experience as a lawyer in California before returning to the Vineyard, where he has continued to practice as a trial lawyer for the past decade. He lives in West Tisbury with his wife and three-year-old son.

He said closing corporate tax loopholes as state representative remains a high priority for him in light of the state budget squeeze.

To help alleviate the effects of an ailing economy, he said he will look to regionalize services and seek out efficiencies within the state organization.

“We are going to feel a pinch and a reduction in services unless we find a way to generate revenue. The governor had some difficult choices,” he said.

As for the last week of the race, Mr. Larkosh said he will be standing outside post offices hoping to catch as many voters as possible.

During the primary he focused on Falmouth as the key battleground in the race, but he said that battleground has now shifted to the Vineyard.

“I think Mr. Madden has a strong showing of support in Nantucket, and I feel like I’m a strong candidate in Falmouth. So the Vineyard is the swing state,” he said.

He said he has enjoyed the campaign process.

“It’s been an amazing journey. Some days I wake up and feel like I’m living someone else’s life. Running for office, I have gotten a window into people’s problems that I never have before,” he said.