Do you need a semicolon here? "First things first, let's establish when one needs a semicolon."

Answer 1

Nope! That sentence is good as is.

Here are two easy tricks for using semicolons:

1. A semicolon replaces a comma plus a conjunction, but only when linking two similar ideas. A conjunction would be one of the FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). So, if you see " , " followed by one of the FANBOYS and the two ideas are similar, then use a semicolon. Example: The sentence "I have a big test tomorrow; I can't go out tonight" could also be written as "I have a big test tomorrow, so I can't go out tonight" but it CANNOT be Twitter as "I have a big test tomorrow, I can't go out tonight" because that is considered a comma splice.
2. Semicolons are useful in breaking up large lists, particularly the kind that would otherwise use a ton of commas. For example: Who's all coming to the party? My cousin Ted, the big nosed, red-headed piano prodigy; Ted's father, my Uncle Bart; the twins, Bitsy and Botsy; all of my brothers will probably wear their ragged, archaic bow ties that fall like wilted flowers; both my parents; and my neighbor, Bob.