'Community Effort' Propels Jenny Armini To 8th Essex Victory

MARBLEHEAD, MA — Jenny Armini proclaimed a "community effort" was the key to propelling her campaign to a narrow victory against Tristan Smith and four other challengers in the race for the open 8th Essex state representative seat.

Armini topped Smith by 308 votes in the final margin — racking up big vote totals in Marblehead while Smith prevailed in Swampscott and the two Lynn precincts.

Armini finished with 27.6 percent of the vote, Smith was second at 23.9 percent, Doug Thompson was third at 18.5, Polly Titcomb was fourth at 11.6 percent, Terri Tauro was fifth at 11.5 percent and Diann Slavit Baylis was sixth at 6.7 percent.

Armini piled up 1,810 of her votes — nearly 80 percent of her 2,309 total — in Marblehead.

With no Republican challenger, the victory makes Armini the de facto candidate-elect in November.

"I am humbled by the trust you have placed in me," Armini said on Wednesday morning, "and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Marblehead, Swampscott and Lynn.

"Special thanks to the many wonderful, committee volunteers who stood out in the rain (Tuesday) and to all those who knocked on doors, made phone calls and sent texts, wrote letters to the editor, and cheered me on the entire campaign.

"This was a community effort and I can't wait to get started."

Armini will fill the vacancy created when President Joe Biden appointed Lori Erhlich to be the regional director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Smith, whom some of his rivals criticized for his collection of high-profile endorsements from family political connections in a local race, said he was proud of the race his campaign ran and how his voters and volunteers "shared my message with passion and purpose."

"To all the young people who joined our team and experienced democracy in action, I hope you continue speaking up for what you believe in," he said on Wednesday. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who stood by my side."

Former Swampscott Select Board Chair Polly Titcomb, who declined to seek re-election to the Board so she could run for state representative, congratulated Armini on the victory and pledged to work "in solidarity with you for the benefit of our district and beyond."

"The opportunity to run for state representative has been an incredible privilege," Titcomb said on Wednesday. "I am grateful for the experience, the amazing people of the 8th Essex District that I have met, the amount I have grown, and the lessons along the way.

"I am proud to have shown my children that putting yourself out there and standing up for what you believe in is worthwhile and contributes to the betterment of society, no matter the personal outcome."

Thompson said he called Armini on Thursday night, congratulated her on the victory and pledged his support for their shared initiatives in the district.

"We ran a strong campaign to make strong progress on the big issues facing this district and the Commonwealth," he said on Wednesday. "We presented thoughtful solutions to address the issues of health care and housing affordability, the climate crisis, reproductive freedom, gun control, transportation, campaign finance and so much more.

"We went to the homes of over 10,000 district voters and went to every street to share our vision more than once. In the end, we came up short. But I hope we have just begun to fight together for the better future we believe in."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)