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Democratic candidate Steve Ouellette was elected to fill the open state representative seat for the 8th Bristol District, riding on support from his hometown of Westport to eke out a victory by a margin of less than 1% over Republican challenger Christopher Thrasher.
Ouellette, 60, campaigned on his deep local roots and support from the district’s established politicians. He sits on the Westport Select Board, along with many local committees, and has more than three decades of experience serving as facilities director for the region’s public schools.
Ouellette was toasting the victory at the VFW in Westport with his family and his team Tuesday night. Reached by phone, he said he thanked the voters — and particularly his hometown of Westport — for their support. He said he is excited to work with the other Democrats elected this term, like Mark Sylvia in the Bristol 10th.
“I am looking forward to moving things forward and getting things done,” Ouellette said. “I am going to show everyone they made the right decision. I am going to work hard for those who believed in me.”
Ouellette received a total of 7,290 votes from the district’s five towns, according to unofficial results posted late Tuesday night. He received just 143 more votes than Thrasher, with 7,147 total votes, according to the same unofficial results. That is a margin of less than 1%.
The 8th Bristol District includes parts of the suburban and rural towns of Acushnet and Freetown, all of Westport and small portions of both Fall River and New Bedford. It was the most crowded local race in the November election, with five candidates vying to fill the open seat. In addition to Ouellette and Thrasher, the race included three independent candidates.
Ouellette will replace Paul Schmid, who has held the state House seat for 14 years. The Westport-based Democrat has championed the region’s agricultural community and played a role in reforming the state’s education funding formula to boost resources in the gateway cities. Ouellette received the endorsement of both Schmid and Sen. Michael Rodrigues (1st Bristol & Plymouth).
In recent years, the district has started to bend more conservative, as redistricting has added more precincts from a conservative region of Acushnet.
Ouellette saw his biggest challenge from Thrasher, the Republican candidate. Though both candidates live in Westport, Thrasher drew more support from the conservative leaning towns of Freetown and Acushnet whereas Ouellette saw most of his support from Westport, Fall River and New Bedford.
Thrasher launched his campaign as a write-in candidate just weeks before the primary with no Republican challenger. The 39-year-old ballot access attorney has long worked for mostly independent candidates, most recently receiving a six-figure sum for consulting on Robert Kennedy Jr.’s failed presidential bid. But in this election, he tethered himself to Republican issues. He gained significant support for his vocal criticism of the offshore wind industry and blasting the state’s “one-party supermajority where very little gets done.”
Late Tuesday night, Thrasher was gathered with his team at White’s of Westport, where the Massachusetts branch of the Trump campaign, led by former Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson, were holding a “MAGA-chusetts” watch party. Thrasher couldn’t be reached by phone late Tuesday night.
The only independent candidate to gain any significant support was Jesse St. Gelais. The 41-year-old insurance agent gained a groundswell of support from his hometown of Acushnet. He received 1,870 votes in Acushnet, which was about 49% of all votes in the town. Ouellette received only 808 votes and Thrasher 937 votes in Acushnet.
That support was evident on Tuesday afternoon at the town’s only polling place, where St. Gelais received high-fives through car windows, and dozens of people held his campaign signs.
“He’s got a tough battle to fight, being an independent in this state,” said Myron Horzesky, a 58-year-old Acushnet resident who also owns Ketcham Traps, a fishing gear manufacturer in New Bedford. “I’m tired of the same old stuff from the same old politicians.”
But that support didn’t extend much farther than Acushnet. On Tuesday afternoon, St. Gelais and his supporters, which included much of the New Bedford City Council, were gathered at Ponderosa Sportsman Club.
“I look at this as a win for the independent party. The independent voice has spoken,” St. Gelais said, when reached by phone late Tuesday night. “I’m sad I won’t be able to serve the people as their representative, but I’m not going to give up on them.”
Other candidates criticized Ouellette during the election for being “ordained” by the region’s Democratic Party, but Ouellette said that his close relationship with the region’s politicians will help him secure funding for the district and “get things done,” he said.
Democrats have held the state House seat for decades. Before Schmid, it was held by Rodrigues, who is now a state senator and also endorsed Ouellette. Ouellette said he was worried that Republicans have made significant inroads in the district. But he says that he will work hard to gain their support in the next election.
“I want to work for them, too,” he said. “What their communities need is what I am going to work for.”
Email reporter Will Sennott at wsennott@newbedfordlight.org.
Will, while you are entitled to write articles as you see fit, should you not have included “tentatively” in your title? You are going to look foolish if in a few days, when final results are in that it has changed. Mail in ballots can be post marked as late as yesterday, thus who knows how many ballots have not been counted. These local cities and towns have also had some issues with the counting machines. Just a POV