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Republican Jesse St. Gelais, an insurance agent for his family’s business, has bested Democratic freshman Rep. Steven Ouellette in the highly contested 8th Bristol District state House race, winning 51.2% to 48.6% in unofficial results.
Vote counting in the Tuesday race went into Wednesday morning, with Acushnet releasing results after 2:30 a.m. and Westport at 3:47 a.m. St. Gelais finished with 9,006 votes to Ouellette’s 8,547.
“To every voter who checked the box next to my name, thank you,” St. Gelais said in a statement to The Light Wednesday afternoon. “And to those who supported Rep. Ouellette, I look forward to working just as hard for you and earning your trust and support as well.”
The 8th Bristol District voted for President Donald Trump in 2024, but Ouellette won a five-man race to take the House seat that year. The district consists of all of Westport and parts of Freetown, Acushnet, Fall River and New Bedford.
Ouellette’s hometown, Westport, went for him, 4,396 to 3,839. St. Gelais’ hometown, Acushnet, went for him, 1,961 to 1,036.
“Looks like we came up short,” Ouellette said in a text to The Light on Wednesday morning. He thanked his family and friends in Westport, his peers on Beacon Hill and the labor unions for “all their hard work on my campaign.”
St. Gelais and the Democratic incumbent agreed on many issues — the high cost of living and a need for more state aid to cities and towns — and differed on others.
That includes state abortion legislation and a ballot question on guns. Now the district’s voters have decided St. Gelais is the right candidate to tackle the problems.
Counting chickens
Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American” played as political supporters held signs and waved to potential voters turning into the parking lot of Freetown Elementary School during Election Day. St. Gelais showed up shortly after in a white pickup truck with a billboard boasting a photo of the Republican candidate.
“I feel great, honestly,” St. Gelais said around noon. “I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch, man, but it feels really good.”
St. Gelais made it onto the ballot in September after beating Westport attorney Christopher Thrasher for the Republican nomination — a feat the 42-year-old Acushnet resident told The Light was “wicked humbling” after the primary elections.
St. Gelais campaigned on priorities including conducting an audit of the Legislature and “stopping the climate agenda.” He said in October that he would stand up for working people and the working poor.
He also said that, if elected, he’d work to repeal a strict firearm law, noting that he legally carries a firearm and is skeptical of new restrictions on law-abiding gun owners. Massachusetts voters upheld the law Tuesday in a referendum vote, which was Question 9 on the ballot.
Ouellette told The Light he didn’t know where he’d go if he lost the election. He said he might return to Acushnet Public Schools as facilities director. He said that would depend on whether school officials have confidence in him, even “if they don’t have confidence in me as a [state] leader.”
And then there’s his previous life as a licensed plumber.
“I may look around… worst case scenario is maybe retire,” Ouellette said.
But he also added that some of his work on Beacon Hill might fall by the wayside, now that he was voted out. That includes $2 million in bond bills.
“A bond bill isn’t like an earmark. You’re not guaranteed; it has to be bonded out,” Ouellette said in the afternoon on Election Day. “I’m sure that would disappear because I wouldn’t be the sponsor there anymore.”
The work begins
It is one thing to campaign on auditing the state’s legislative branch and repealing recently-passed abortion legislation, and it’s another to deliver. While St. Gelais previously told The Light he’d work to get the abortion law off the books, he’s facing a steep climb. Democrats held a 131-25 majority in the state House going into Tuesday’s election.
“I understand political-party-wise, I’d be outnumbered,” St. Gelais said on Election Day. “I’m not worried. We’re working together. … Again, I’m there to represent the district. I’m there to get the job done, that’s it.”
He said towns in the 8th Bristol District need more local aid, and residents need to know they won’t “be priced out of their homes and out of their state.”
Early on Election Day, St. Gelais said he wasn’t too worried about how his life might shift from private to public, noting the campaign had already pulled him and his family into the spotlight. “Just ask my wife. We’re all over the place,” he added.
After the votes were tallied, St. Gelais said he was excited to start serving the 8th Bristol District “and delivering the results our district needs to make life better and more affordable.”
Nathan Collins is an investigative journalist and a Report for America corps member, covering the fishing industry, oceans and the blue economy. Report for America places talented journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and regions. Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@newbedfordlight.org.
With a 10 to 1 Dem to GOP balance in the house, he is legislatively irrelevant and his district is now essentially without any representation on Beacon Hill and will be far worse off because of it with regard to local aid.
I totally agree, during the next election his Democratic opponent will point out that he has done nothing in the legislature…
Besides being anti abortion & calling climate change a “hoax” might play well in Acushnet but won’t get you far with most voters.
Congrats to Jesse St. Gelais, his family, and all his supporters. He ran a great campaign and I’m sure he will do a great job representing and helping out the south coast area and it’s residents.