Rogers won the Democratic primary and will face Tomi Olson and Jim Gammill in November.
Candidate Dave Rogers of Cambridge turned a surprise upset in the Democratic primary to fill a vacant seat in the State Legislature vacated when Will Brownsberger was elected to the State Senate. A hearty congratulations to Dave!! (*)
Rogers defeated two Belmont natives: Margaret Hegarty and newcomer Bobby Reardon to win the right to face off against Republican Tomi Olson and Jim Gammill in November.
It’s always hard to know who’s ahead or behind in local elections like this, as tracking polls are expensive and rare. That said, I think its safe to say that Rogers – a 40-something attorney – was an underdog in the campaign: this was his first run for public office and he faced an uphill battle to win votes in a district that is heavily weighted towards Belmont.
Still, Dave ran a campaign with pluck and verve: making inroads in Belmont’s progressive community by pressing the flesh in door to door canvassing and in-home coffees.
Rogers was also helped along by the dynamics of the race. Hegarty, a beloved member of our community, faced the challenge of having to build a big enough margin to overcome the presence of fellow Belmontonian and fresh new face Bobby Reardon. In the end, it wasn’t enough: with Rogers losing every district in Belmont but running the table in Arlington’s five districts and getting big margins in the two Cambridge districts to take the race by around 200 votes: 2,291 to Hegarty’s 2,089. Reardon garnered 914.
You can read more here on Patch:
Cambridge’s Rogers Wins State Rep Race – Belmont, MA Patch.
(*) Full disclosure: I was a supporter of Dave’s candidacy, including lawn sign-ing and sign holding and otherwise talking up the guy to whomever I met.