LAWRENCE — Incumbent Francisco Paulino, D-Methuen, secured the Democratic nomination for the 16th Essex District seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives Tuesday, beating out Marcos Devers of Lawrence.
Paulino took 1,486 votes, while Devers received 1,004 ballots.
With no Republican challenger, Paulino will likely secure the seat in the Nov. 5 general election.
The 16th Essex District is made up of sections of both Methuen and Lawrence, with three Methuen precincts and nearly a dozen precincts in Lawrence. The election was a rematch of 2022 when Devers, who had held the seat since 2009, lost to Paulino in a tight race.
In Lawrence, Paulino received 1,081 votes in Tuesday’s voting while Devers received 907 votes. In Methuen, Paulino received 405 votes to Devers’ 133.
The 2022 shake up came after the redistricting of the 16th Essex District, which was intended to create three majority-minority Hispanic districts in the Lawrence and Methuen area. State officials’ aim was to create more minority representation in certain regions. Before the changes, the 16th Essex District covered only Lawrence.
Turnout in Methuen Tuesday was “less than impressive,” Methuen City Clerk Anne Drouin, said at around 5:45 p.m. Polls closed at 8 p.m.
She added there had been “a lot” of mail-in ballots.
As far as the race for 16th Essex District seat went Tuesday, she said there appeared to be more sign holders than voters at the polls.
In 2022, the Democratic primary for the 16th Essex seat was decided with less than 4,000 votes and with no Republican challenger, Paulino cruised to victory.
As of 2020, the average number of residents in a district was 43,937, according to state data.
Paulino has received the endorsement of Methuen mayor Neil Perry while Devers was endorsed by Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña, according to social media posts from both candidates.
According to Paulino, he was also endorsed by State Sen. Pavel Payano D-Lawrence, State Rep. Estela Rayes D-Lawrence and State Rep. Ryan Hamilton D-Methuen.
“I have managed and will continue to manage and legislate for public safety, more businesses and jobs, greater benefits for veterans, and improvements in housing, education, and healthcare for Lawrence and Methuen,” Devers said in a campaign ad he posted to his social media on Sunday.
On his campaign website, Paulino highlighted a number of goals and priorities including fighting for free early childhood education, redeveloping school curriculum, drafting legislation incentivizing small business growth, investigating pay discrimination based on gender, expanding vocational and trade schools and improving and creating apprenticeship programs.
On election night, clerks were dealing with misprints of ballots by the state, according to Drouin.
While the printing error only flipped the order of the two candidates for the 16th Essex seat, it stopped officials from being able to use ballot tabulators, said Drouin.
Paulino holds a degree from Suffolk University Law school and has worked as a senior tax associate at Madison Tax for the past 13 years, according to his linkedIn profile.
Devers, who holds a degree in civil engineering, is the founder and owner of MDJ Incorporated, a company which specializes in planning, consulting and engineering, according to the company website.