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Jesse St. Gelais, an insurance agent and Acushnet resident, beat Westport attorney Christopher Thrasher on Tuesday in the Republican primary for the 8th Bristol seat, according to preliminary results. He will now face the incumbent Democratic state representative, Steven Ouellette, in November.
“This is wicked humbling,” said St. Gelais, 42, who celebrated at the Ponderosa Sportsman Club in Acushnet with family, friends and his political consultant, who was tabulating unofficial results on his laptop. The bar, with its wooden walls well covered by sports flags, a deer head and signs (including Trump bumper stickers), played “We Are the Champions” as St. Gelais took a call from a supporter.
“I’m exhausted, but I am so grateful,” he said. “I didn’t expect the turnout to be this big in my favor, really. … People saw me for me, they saw the message, they saw the hard work.”
Earlier in the day, St. Gelais received waves from drivers pulling into an Acushnet polling site. One man told him he was voting for the first time, and voting for him.
“It appears based on the preliminary numbers that [St. Gelais] will have the nomination,” Thrasher, 41, said by phone Tuesday night. “I am extremely grateful to those who came out and voted for me.”
As of 11:42 p.m., the Associated Press said about 62% of votes had been counted, with 74% in favor of St. Gelais. In New Bedford, where St. Gelais’ family business is located, he received 102 of the 122 votes, per city results. In Westport, he nearly split with Thrasher, according to numbers from his consultant.
Both candidates campaigned on affordability and the need to audit the state Legislature. They both cited 72% — the share of Massachusetts residents who voted on a 2024 ballot question in favor of allowing the state auditor to audit the body. Most Democrats in the Legislature, however, voted to narrow the scope of the audit this June, including Ouellette.
They also sparred with one another on social media and in speeches. It didn’t stop with the preliminary results. In primary night interviews with The Light, Thrasher accused members of St. Gelais’ family of intimidating his wife, but declined to share further details. St. Gelais said Thrasher was “morally bankrupt” and trying to “character assassinate” him and his family. Thrasher said he would “under no circumstances” endorse St. Gelais.
St. Gelais and Ouellette, of Westport, will now compete for the seat. The 8th Bristol district includes all of Westport and portions of Freetown, Acushnet, Fall River and New Bedford. Four of the five municipalities voted majority Republican (some by a thin margin) during the 2024 presidential election.
In the 2024 general election, Ouellette beat Thrasher by about 250 votes — so close, Thrasher requested a hand recount. St. Gelais came in third as an independent candidate in 2024, about 3,000 votes behind the top two.
St. Gelais has never held elected office, only serving as an appointee on an Acushnet board.
He has been working for his family’s insurance business for over two decades. He did not finish his degree at Bristol Community College, saying it became too expensive. He said his values (“faith, work hard, play by the rules”) align with those of the Republican Party, which is why he ran as one this time around.
On Tuesday, his signs outside the Acushnet Elementary School bore the same slogan he ran on in 2024: “people over party.”
Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org.
