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Incumbent state Rep. Mark Sylvia declared victory Tuesday night over challenger Brendalee Smith for the Bristol 10th District state representative seat, securing his spot on Beacon Hill for another two years.
As of Wednesday, Sylvia had secured 10,879 votes or 61 percent, and Smith had 6,925 votes or 39%. Rochester votes were still unavailable on Wednesday afternoon.
Sylvia rang in his victory at Traveler’s Alehouse in his hometown of Fairhaven, the same location where he celebrated his success in the 2024 midterm elections. Chairs, tablecloths and blue “Mark Sylvia” posters dominated the room where he announced his unofficial victory around 10 p.m. on election night.
With two years of legislative experience under his belt, Sylvia said Tuesday night that he plans to “hit the ground running” and focus on bills centered around affordability. In an interview with The Light on Monday, he said his experience and the relationships he’s built on Beacon Hill over the past two years will allow him to be “even more effective” his second time around.
“It’s even clearer to me what to do to push the very important agenda we ran on two years ago,” he said.
Smith spoke to The Light after Sylvia declared victory. While she said she was disappointed with the result, she congratulated Sylvia and said she and her team did the best campaigning they could in the two months leading up to the election. She said the number of voters she saw at the polls showed that people are “being more responsible with their vote and how it does matter.”
“That’s the most important part of it, is to get people engaged in the process,” Smith said.
Sylvia said he’s ready to get back to work Wednesday. Over the past two years, he said, he has created a list of potential legislation for his second term.
“You should always be learning, no matter how much experience you may bring to the table,” Sylvia said. “I’ve spent the last two years [learning] to be a good student of the legislative process, to ask questions, build relationships, understand the process and have a sense of urgency.”
Bristol’s 10th District consists of Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester and Fairhaven, and parts of Acushnet and New Bedford. Prior to Sylvia’s foray into office in 2024, Mattapoisett Democrat Bill Straus led the district for 32 years. Although it voted blue in the past presidential election, the results were close; 49.7% of the vote went to Kamala Harris, while 47.5% went to Donald Trump.
Both candidates centered their campaigns around the cost of living — a main concern for voters across the state — but differed on other issues. They both traveled to various polling locations around the district where they stood with supporters while people waved from car windows and honked their horns.
Supporters holding signs for Sylvia at Fairhaven, Marion and New Bedford polling locations included a fisherman, two veterans and a social worker, who all said they felt supported by him. Many of Smith’s supporters holding signs said they were fellow church members and friends of hers who spoke about her character and heart.
Kelly Ochoa, a Spanish teacher at Old Rochester Regional High School, said the library-related bill that Sylvia cosponsored, which protects libraries from book bans and political pressure, is one reason she supports him. Eric Hansen, a fisherman and Marion resident who voted for Sylvia, said he didn’t vote for any of his stances in particular but appreciated when he reached out to speak with him as a member of the fishing industry.
Ann Richard, a lifelong Fairhaven resident who went to high school with Sylvia, recalled him as class president in school. On Tuesday morning, the two held “Mark Sylvia” signs in Benoit Square in Fairhaven — where Sylvia first announced he was running for state representative for the 2024 midterms — before the polls opened. Each time there is an election he’s in, she and Sylvia have gathered in the square.
“It’s very rare that you meet someone in town that doesn’t know him or have a connection to him,” Richard said.
Some voters in New Bedford who spoke with The Light said they did not follow the race closely. Instead, they headed to the polls for other reasons, like concerns about affordability and the environment, dissatisfaction with the federal government and other measures on the ballot, like the governor’s race and the record-tying nine ballot questions.
New Bedford residents Daniel Rivera Jr. and Kelly De Sousa, like others The Light spoke with, said they voted based purely on party affiliation. So Rivera’s Democratic vote went to Sylvia while De Sousa’s Republican vote went to Smith.
Smith, a write-in candidate who decided to enter the race eight days before the Sept. 1 primary, said she joined to give people a choice. She qualified after securing 185 write-in votes, which surpassed the required 150. Before that, Syvlia had run unopposed.
During the campaign process, Sylvia spent about 15 times more than Smith in campaign expenditures, according to state databases. As of Nov. 2, the night before the election, Sylvia’s expenditures totaled nearly $60,000, with about $24,000 cash on hand, while Smith’s hovered just under $4,000 with no cash on hand. Smith said she got the word out to people about her candidacy through door-knocking, mailings and forums.
Some Smith voters said they voted for her based on her pro-life stance and support for schools, while others did not cite specific policies and said they voted based on her character.
“It’s her heart [and] that commitment to wanting to be a voice that speaks for all of us,” said Smith’s treasurer, Jayne Westner, who could not cast a vote for the race because she is a District 9 resident.
Smith said she’s not sure if she plans to run for the seat again in the future, but plans to stay involved, perhaps through volunteering, she said.
“It doesn’t end tonight,” Smith said.
Crystal Yormick is a recent graduate of Boston University and a frequent contributor to The New Bedford Light. Email her at cyormick@newbedfordlight.org.
