Ken Gordon Takes Primary Win In Burlington State Rep. Race

BURLINGTON, MA — State Rep. Ken Gordon is on track to win another term in the State House of Representatives after beating primary challenger Timmy Sullivan on Tuesday night.

While the race was neck and neck in Burlington, Gordon managed to pull away from Sullivan in Bedford and Lexington, securing the win and kicking off celebrations.

"I am humbled to have again earned the honor of continuing to support the Bedford and Burlington community and now to add Precinct 6 in Lexington to the district," Gordon wrote in a statement to Patch after his victory. "We will continue to work together to make a better future for our community."

The 21st Middlesex race pitted Gordon against Sullivan. Gordon has served in the state legislature since 2013. Sullivan entered the race as the Executive Director of PHENOM, a nonprofit focused on expanding access to education.

With no Republican candidates on the ballot in the 21st Middlesex District, Gordon is poised to win another term in the legislature later this year.

As Gordon noted, this election cycle ushers in new boundaries for the 21st Middlesex District, which now includes a portion of Lexington.

Sullivan inched out to an early lead in Burlington, according to an initial count reported by the Associated Press.

That lead then narrowed and flipped with the release of Burlington's unofficial election results from the Town Clerk, showing Gordon with a narrow 24-vote advantage in Burlington.

Unofficial votes totals had not been reported from Bedford or Lexington as of Tuesday night. The Bedford Citizen first reported Gordon's win around 10:30 p.m., however, describing a victory driven by a strong performance in Gordon's hometown of Bedford.

Sullivan shared his thoughts in his own comments to Patch.

"I’m extremely proud of what our campaign accomplished in just three months— especially in Burlington. And (I'm) so thankful for all of our voters who turned out powerfully to show that we can, and must, deliver more for our community," he said. "This is just the start of the conversation in my mind — and one that won't end until we have real plans for climate action and commit to transparency in governance."

Outside of the legislative contest, a race for the Democratic nomination to represent District Three on the Governor's Council marked one other local race on Burlington Democratic primary ballots this year, pitting longtime incumbent Marilyn Petitto Devaney against challenger Mara Dolan.

Petitto Devaney led Dolan as of 2:40 a.m. by a margin of 51% to 49% with results from just over 86% of the Third District reported, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The Governor's Council, which handles duties including reviewing the governor's judicial appointments, includes representatives from eight districts across the state. District Three includes Burlington and several other communities primarily in Middlesex County.

Petitto Devaney has represented the district for more than 20 years. Dolan, a public defender, is looking to unseat her.

As with the 21st Middlesex House race, there are no candidates on the Republican ballot in the Governor's Council's District Three, leaving the winner of today's Democratic primary on track to win a seat on the council later this year.

Outside of local races, contested statewide Democratic races in this week's election included battles for Attorney General, Auditor, Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State. There were also contested Republican races for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

Democratic Attorney General and Gubernatorial Candidate Maura Healey technically had a primary opponent on the ballot in Sonia Chang-Diaz. Chang-Diaz dropped out of the race earlier this year, though, leaving Healey effectively unopposed. The AP called the Democratic governor's race in favor of Healey shortly after polls closed on Tuesday.

The AP then called the Republican race in favor of Geoff Diehl later on Tuesday night, with Diehl edging out competitor Chris Doughty to set up a general election race with Healey.

William Galvin won the Democratic Secretary of State race to face Republican Rayla Campbell in the general election in November, the AP said.

Andrea Campbell then emerged as the declared winner in the Democratic Attorney General race, according to the AP. She will face Republican James McMahon, III in November.

Kimberly Driscoll was declared the winner of a three-way race for the Democratic Lieutenant Governor nomination. That sets her up to face Leah Allen, who was called as the winner of the Republican Lieutenant Governor race on Wednesday.

The AP called Diana DiZoglio's State Auditor race with Chris Dempsey early Wednesday morning in favor of DiZoglio. She will face Republican Anthony Amore in the general election.