Would be 41st female in Senate in state history if elected July 25

Well-wisher hugs Friedman on Election Night. / Marjorie Howard photo

UPDATED, June 29:  Voters Tuesday, June 27, promoted Cindy Friedman, 64, to the state Senate seat held by her boss, Ken Donnelly, until his April 2 death.

Rep. Sean Garballey, still fresh-faced at 32, was pushed aside by 776 votes. He won Arlington and Woburn, but lost elsewhere. Friedman was particularly strong in Lexington, likely reflecting the support of state Rep. Jay Kaufman.

In a tweet, Rick Sobey of The Lowell Sun reported the first unofficial results. Later results showed Friedman with 7,075 votes and Garballey with 6,299. Stewart got 428. See an image of the unofficial tallies below.

See full, unofficlal vote counts here >>

Arlington turnout was tops, at 24.6 percent, similar to the usual count in a spring town election.

Turnouts in other locales speak for themselves -- from 15.5 percent in Lexington to 4.9 percent in Billerica.

No Republican or independent candidates were on the ballot. Arlington resident Ian Jackson, a Green-Rainbow Party candidate, will face Friedman in the July 25 general election.

If elected in July, she would be the first woman to be newly elected to the Senate since Sen. Barbara L’Italien in 2015, and the 41st female state senator in Massachusetts history.

With two vacancies, the Senate comprises 20 male Democrats, six male Republicans and 12 women, all Democrats.

Fifty-one women -- 39 representatives and 12 senators -- now serve in the 200-seat state Legislature.

To chants of "Cindy, Cindy" at the Masonic Temple, Friedman said: "We have a lot of work to do and a lot of fights to fight. I will be strong, and we have each other."

Stewart immediately issued a statement: "I'm grateful for all my supporters and all the volunteers, and all the people who believed in me by giving me their vote.

"The campaign is over, but I'll continue to be an effective advocate for the people of the district and the Commonwealth.

"I'm grateful for all my supporters and all the volunteers, and all the people who believed in me by giving me their vote. The campaign is over but I'll continue to be an effective advocate for the people of the district and the Commonwealth.

I enthusiastically support the next State Senator for the 4th Middlesex District, Cindy Friedman."

"I was incredibly awestruck and a little bit overwhelmed” as the results came in," Friedman told The Globe in a phone interview. "We came from absolutely no name recognition to winning and that feels really good." 

June 28, 2017, Boston Globe summary

Supporters at the Sons of Italy said Garballey congratulated Friedman for running a great campaign across the whole district. He pledged to continue his work in the House fighting for mental health care, foster care and other causes.

"Politics means sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but I am fortunate to have good work to do fighting for the vulnerable in the House," supporters quoted him.

The Friedman and Garballey campaigns have been asked for statements.

The 4th Middlesex Senate district encompasses the Towns of Arlington, Billerica, Burlington; precincts 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 in the Town of Lexington; and the City of Woburn, all in Middlesex County.

Vying for the Democratic nomination in an abbreviated race are two Arlington residents -- state Rep. Sean Garballey and Donnelly's former chief of staff, Cindy Friedman -- as well as Lexington resident Mary Ann Stewart, a member of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The state secretary of state's website says that, if a write-in candidate for state Senate gets 300 votes plus a majority of all the votes cast for candidates competing for their party's nomination, that person becomes that party's nominee in the general election.

Globe, June 26, 2017:  3 candidates view for Donnelly seat 

YourArlington, June 6, 2017: 400 hear 3 Senate hopefuls in Arlington

Links to discussions of views from Garballey and Friedman on the Mass. Progressive Forum >> See an interview with Stewart >> 

See each discuss:

-- a vision for the office >> 

-- electoral reform >> 

-- climate, environment >> 

-- transportation >>

-- immigration >>

-- criminal-justice reform >> 

-- charter schools >>

-- affordable housing >>

-- labor >>

 -- all interviews >>

Links to questionnaires for all three candidates from the Arlington Enrollment Parent Group >>  

June 21, 2017: Spending, receipts in race

ACMi election coverage 

To date, here are those seeking that seat, listed chronologically from the date of an announcement: 

Stewart

May 23, 2017: Working at grass roots for a fair share

April 27, 2017: Lexington school activist becomes third to vie for Senate seat 

Campaign meet, greet: Saturday, May 20, 4 to 6 p.m. at the home of Paula and Russ Antonevich, 76 Buckman Drive, Lexington. 

Campaign website | Blog | Facebook

Opinion: June 14, 2017: Stewart pleased by Fair Share advance 

Friedman

June 2-20, 2017: Endorsement, internal poll boost Friedman campaign

May 28: Eyeing funding for prekindergarten, health care

May 19, 2017: Friedman's signatures accepted, placing her on ballot

May 11, 2017: Kaufman, Donnelly kin among 125 launching Friedman campaign

May 5, 2017: Donnelly family endorses Friedman for state Senate

April 24, 2017: Donnelly's longtime chief of staff announces candidacy

Letters to the editor >>

June 9, 2017: Commentary on Paris accord withdrawal

Campaign kickoff: Sunday, May 7, from 4:30 to 6:40 p.m. at the Arlington Elks Lodge, 56 Pond Lane. RSVP online. For details see PDF flier.

Campaign website | Facebook   

Garballey

June 2, 2017: Rep. Garballey cites a track record of legislation

May 14, 2017: Estimated 500, variety of pols attend Garballey kickoff

May 9-June 19, 2017: More unions, female reps endorse Garballey

April 13, 2017: Garballey says he running 

Letters to the editor >>

Campaign kickoff: Friday, May 12, 6:30 p.m., Sons of Italy, 19 Prentiss Road.

Campaign website | Facebook   

State Rep. Marc T. Lombardo, Republican of Billerica, decided not to run, pointing to an April 22 statement on Facebook: "I want to thank everyone who has urged me to run for state Senate. After careful consideration, I've decided not to run for the Senate. In the final analysis, I love serving and representing the people of Billerica."

The State House News Service has reported that an Arlington candidate has held the seat since 1983.

A minimum of 300 certified signatures are required for nominees. The deadline for submitting nomination papers to local registrars of voters or election commissioners for certification is 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 16. The deadline for filing certified nomination papers with the secretary of the Commonwealth is Tuesday, May 23.

The state Senate ordered the election for Tuesday, July 25, to elect a successor to Donnelly, the Arlington Democrat who died April 2 from the effects of brain cancer. Primaries are set for held Tuesday, June 27. 

This information was published Sunday, April 30, 2017, and updated June 29.