Nguyen Holds Massive Money Edge Over Dufour In 18th Essex Race

ANDOVER, MA — Incumbent Democrat Tram Nguyen holds an overwhelming fundraising lead over her Republican challenger Jeffrey Dufour, according to according to campaign finance reports filed by both candidates. The two candidates are facing off in the 18th Essex district state house race, which includes parts of Andover, Boxford, North Andover and Tewksbury.

Nguyen, a first-term representative from Andover, has raised $168,000 since 2018, and ended September with $159,796.02 on hand.

Dufour, of Tewksbury, entered the home stretch with just $5,185.08 to draw on, having raised $15,270 over the course of the campaign.

Read Patch's profiles of the two candidates:

Jeff Dufour: Candidate Profile 18th Essex District

Tram Nguyen: Candidate Profile 18th Essex District

In September, Nguyen raised $27,614.87 to Dufour's $5,932.50.

Nguyen unseated four-term representative Jim Lyons in 2018 in a race that caught the attention of some national Democrats. She received the endorsements of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and won the race by almost 10 points. Lyons has since become the chairman of Massachusetts Republican Party.

Dufour's challenge has not yet drawn the same level of attention. Dufour, who running for office for the first time, described his Republican primary effort as a "small grass roots campaign." He beat Andover's Shishan Wang with overwhelming support from Tewksbury's Republicans.

Wang had the support of Massachusetts Majority, a political action committee linked to Gov. Charlie Baker that boosts moderate candidates of both parties, as reported by Commonwealth Magazine. But Dufour has received support from the state party, which has targeted Nguyen with social media posts over her support of the ROE Act and the state police.

In the 2018 race, Nguyen received significant in-kind support from the state Democratic party; she has not reported anything similar this cycle.

>>Rep. Tram Nguyen Targeted By Race-Baiting Robocall

Neither candidate spent vast sums of money in September; Dufour spent just $1,389.94, on robocalls, consulting and postage, while Nguyen spent $5,912.87, on field consulting, her newsletter, and paying her campaign manager.

Both candidates drew most heavily on their hometowns, with 196 Andover residents giving over $40,000 to Nguyen's campaign and 18 Tewksbury residents giving $6,855 to Dufour's. Nguyen had strong support from local elected officials, receiving donations from selectmen and school committee members in the towns she represents.

Dufour, who works in information systems and management, has also self-funded to the tune of $5,500, about a third of his total funds raised.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.