Democrat Krista Ferrante Flips Kim Ferguson's Longtime GOP Seat in Central Mass., as Republicans Lose Ground on Beacon Hill

Democrat Krista Ferrante of Princeton won the First Worcester state House seat on Tuesday, flipping a district that Republicans had held for years, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported Wednesday.

Ferrante defeated Republican Stephanie Mulroy of Holden for the seat held by outgoing Republican Rep. Kim Ferguson, according to the Telegram and State House News Service. The Telegram described it as a "longtime GOP state House seat." Both candidates advanced from their parties' Sept. 1 primaries, according to Ballotpedia, setting up an open-seat contest in a district Republicans were trying to defend.

State House News Service reported late Tuesday that the First Worcester contest was the one race "in which Republicans are still attempting to defend an existing GOP seat" that had not been called as of 11 p.m.

A second GOP loss in the House

In Western Massachusetts, Agawam Democrat Tom Hendrickson said Republican Rep. Nick Boldyga of Southwick conceded the Third Hampden House seat in a phone call around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, State House News Service reported. Hendrickson said his campaign had received enough voting data from Agawam and Southwick to know the result.

With no Republican pickups reported in the News Service's election-night tally, the two results point to a smaller Republican caucus in the House next year.

Races still unsettled at deadline

In the Senate, the AP had Democrat Shannon Teabo narrowly ahead of Republican Sen. Peter Durant in the Worcester and Hampshire District with 20 percent of the vote counted as of 10:15 p.m., State House News Service reported. Durant said at the time that the count was going "very slow."

In the Eighth Bristol District, Republican Jesse St. Gelais of Acushnet led Democratic Rep. Steven Ouellette of Westport 59 percent to just over 40 percent with 15.4 percent counted at 10 p.m. Ouellette said he did not expect results until midnight because of heavy turnout and a two-page ballot that "slowed things down a lot." Republicans had identified the seat as a possible pickup.

Other open-seat races uncalled at that hour included the Ninth Bristol, where Democrat Ed Pacheco led Republican Chester Tam 56 percent to 43 percent with more than 81 percent counted; the Sixth Middlesex, between Democrat Lorena Betts and Republican Karla Miller; and the First Franklin, between Democrat Lora Wondolowski and unenrolled candidate Amy Lavallee, the News Service reported. Final results for those races were not available in the sources reviewed.

New members

At least four new representatives-elect said Tuesday night that they are heading to the State House in January, according to State House News Service: Democrats Chris Lambton of Dennis, who won the First Barnstable seat of outgoing Rep. Chris Flanagan; Mike Nicholson of Gardner, who won the Second Worcester seat of outgoing Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik; Connor Murray of Andover; and Joe Markey of Lynnfield.

Markey defeated Republican Trevor Currier for the Twentieth Middlesex seat held for three decades by outgoing House Minority Leader Brad Jones, the News Service reported. Currier said he conceded around 11 p.m.

Incumbents who won included Democratic Reps. Lisa Field of Taunton, Jim Hawkins of the Second Bristol, Paul Donato of the 35th Middlesex, David Linsky of Natick and Meghan Kilcoyne of Clinton, according to the News Service.

The bigger picture

The legislative results came on a night when Democrats swept the top of the ticket in Massachusetts. Gov. Maura Healey won about 63 percent and Sen. Ed Markey about 64 percent with 81 percent of the vote counted, according to CBS Boston's AP results.

Of the Legislature's 200 seats, 47 House seats and 10 Senate seats were contested this year, State House News Service reported. Eighteen seats were open, eight of them contested, and 49 incumbents, 10 senators and 39 representatives, faced challengers.

Democrats will keep supermajorities in both chambers regardless of how the contested seats turn out, the News Service reported. That matters immediately: legislative leaders are negotiating a public records bill that could supersede the voter-approved Question 1, and a supermajority can override a veto from Gov. Maura Healey, WBUR has reported.

What is not known

Final vote totals for the First Worcester race were not available in the sources reviewed, and official results will come after certification. Mulroy's public response to the result was not included in the reports reviewed.