Politics & Government
After Recount, Trahan Tops Koh In Democratic Primary For Congress
Koh conceded the race Monday afternoon and urged supporters to back Trahan in the general election.
BOSTON, MA -- Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin declared Lori Trahan the winner of the Sept. 4 Democratic Primary in the third Congressional District. Trahan topped Dan Koh of Andover and eight other candidates. The recount of 89,000 votes in 37 communities was completed Monday afternoon, the deadline for finishing hand inspection of the ballots.
Trahan, of Lowell, will face Republican Rick Green of Pepperell and unaffiliated candidate Mike Mullen of Maynard in the general election in November to replace Rep. Nikki Tsongas (D-Lowell).
While Koh picked up one vote in Lawrence and four votes in Andover, Trahan grabbed 45 more votes during Sunday's recount in Lowell. Galvin's office said Trahan maintained well over a 100-vote margin of victory even as the recounts in one town was being finalized.
Find out what's happening in Andoverfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Out of 89,000 votes, it looks like we fell short by about 0.1%. There’s no use in getting upset about the close margin – we can’t afford to," Koh said. "It’s time for us to unite behind Lori Trahan to be sure this seat stays Democratic."
Trahan was expected to speak at a press conference scheduled for 5:45 pm Monday.
Find out what's happening in Andoverfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Koh was dealt a setback Thursday in the ongoing saga to determine a winner of the primary when Galvin said the recount of votes in Lowell would proceed as scheduled on Sunday. Koh, of Andover, had wanted the recount delayed until after the completion of an investigation of Lowell's election process.
Galvin's office oversaw the recounts in Lawrence and Lowell. Last week his office took direct control of the election offices in Lawrence and Lowell because of inexperienced election staff in Lawrence and errors in the processing of ballots and the tallying of state primary results in Lowell.
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Patch file photo.
Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).
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