Koh Filing For Recount In Democratic Congressional Primary

ANDOVER, MA -- Dan Koh's campaign said Friday that the candidate for Congress will file a petition for a recount of Tuesday's Democratic primary. Koh lost to Lori Trahan by 52 votes out of more than 85,000 cast in the crowded race. The deadline to file for a recount is 5 pm Friday.

"As we have said since Tuesday, Dan is committed to making sure all ballots are counted. The closeness of the initial results - 52 votes, or 0.06%, out of nearly 85,000 cast - and significant changes in vote counts in some communities over the last couple of days have made it clear that a recount is necessary to ensure every vote is counted," the statement from Koh's campaign said. "That is why we will be filing for a recount later today. We want the process to progress as swiftly as possible so that the ultimate nominee will have adequate time and resources to win in November."

Both Koh and Trahan began collecting signatures Wednesday to support recount requests. The Democratic primary winner will face face Pepperell Republican Rick Green, a co-founder of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, and independent candidate Mike Mullen in the November general election to succeed Rep. Nikki Tsongas (D-Lowell), who is retiring at the end of the current term.

Trahan, of Lowell, declared herself the winner of the race at 12:10 am on Wednesday morning. But Koh, who previously was chief of staff to Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, is the only candidate out of 10 that had not conceded by Friday morning.

The Third Congressional District includes Precincts 2 through 7 and Precinct 9 in Andover, Haverhill, Lawrence, and Methuen in Essex County, as well as Acton, Ashby, Ayer, Boxborough, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Hudson, Littleton, Lowell, Marlborough, Maynard, Pepperell, Shirley, Stow, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Westford, and Precinct 1 in Sudbury in Middlesex County.

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Patch file photo via Shutterstock.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).