Reyes elected to House in tight Primary

Christopher Roberson, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·2 min read

Sep. 7—With 51% of the vote, Lawrence City Councilor Estela Reyes secured a narrow victory in the Sept. 6 State Democratic Primary Election and will lead the new Fourth Essex District in the House of Representatives starting early next year.

"First and foremost, I want to say thank you to my partner, Abel and my family as well as my amazing team which includes volunteers, voters and supporters who have worked tirelessly and did not stop believing in me," said Reyes. "I ran for state representative in the Fourth Essex District because each and every resident in this district deserves access to opportunities that help them reach their fullest potential, a safe place to raise our families, quality health care, growth opportunities for local businesses and I believe that I am the most qualified state representative candidate to get us there."

Reyes has been on the Lawrence City Council since 2012 and is the current vice president. She also took part in the Never Again Movement, which prevented Columbia Gas from doing business in Massachusetts following the Merrimack Valley gas explosions in 2018.

She was opposed by former Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua and Methuen City Councilor James McCarty.

"I threw everything I had into this race and have no regrets about the race I ran over the past nine months," said McCarty. "Methuen had more ballots cast but we could not make up for the margin in Lawrence. I am looking forward to continuing to fight the good fight for both communities."

By presstime, results had not been released for the First Essex Senate race or the 16th Essex House race.

The Senate race featured Methuen City Councilor Eunice Zeigler taking on Lawrence City Councilor Pavel Payano and Doris Rodriguez.

The winner will replace outgoing State Sen. Diana DiZoglio, who led the district since 2019. She is running for state auditor.

In the 16th Essex House race, State Rep. Marcos Devers, who has represented the district since 2019, was challenged by Francisco Paulino. The results for that race were not available by press time.

None of the Primary winners are facing Republican opposition in the Nov. 8 General Election.