Tight Race In Marblehead, Swampscott 8th Essex House Chase

Updated 12 a.m.

MARBLEHEAD, MA — Jenny Armini held a small edge against Tristan Smith in the race to become the next 8th Essex District state representative encompassing Marblehead, Swampscott and parts of Lynn.

According to unofficial results at about midnight, Armini led Smith by about 300 votes with the other four candidates on the ballot trailing.

The seat was vacated in January when President Joe Biden tabbed Rep. Lori Ehrlich to be the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency regional director.

The opening drew a crowded field with six candidates on the ballot for the Democratic nomination: Jenny Armini, Diann Slavit Baylis, Tristan Smith, Terri Tauro, Doug Thompson and Polly Titcomb.

While many of the candidates expressed similar views at forums throughout the summer, a rift among some of the candidates developed late in the summer when Smith received several high-profile endorsements and the four women candidates issued a joint statement accusing the Smith campaign of using family political connections to perpetuate what Armini, Baylis, Tauro and Titcomb called "structural failures of our political system."

There is no Republican challenger on the November ballot — meaning Tuesday's winner will in all likelihood go on to claim the State House seat.

(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.)