Sean Garballey Re-elected, Defeats Joe Monju

State Rep. Sean Garballey won his bid for re-election in the 23rd Middlesex District Tuesday, defeating Republican challenger Joe Monju by more than a 4-to-1 margin.

The 27-year-old incumbent Democrat received 81.30 percent of the vote, or 18,918 votes. Monju, a first-time candidate, took in 18.70 percent, or 4,351.

The 23rd Middlesex District comprises Precincts 1, 3, 5-7, 9, 11, 13-21 in Arlington and West Medford.

In Arlington, Garballey received 82.59 percent of the vote, or 14,778 votes. Monju got 17.27 percent, or 3.091. In West Medford, it was Garballey 76.67 percent, Monju 23.33 percent, or 4,140 to 1,260, respectively.

Garballey, the vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Election Laws, was first elected in a special election in 2008. He ran unopposed in 2010.