Jesse W. St. Gelais won the Republican primary for 8th Bristol District state representative over Christopher Thrasher in an unofficial tally of 1,847 to 1,060.
St. Gelais will now face Democrat and first-term incumbent Steven J. Ouellette of Westport in the Nov. 3 state election.
Thrasher and St. Gelais finished second and third, respectively, in a five-candidate general election field featuring two other independents in 2024.
The 8th Bristol District consists of Precincts 2, and 3 of the town of Acushnet, Ward 1 Precinct A and Ward 6 Precincts A, B, of the city of Fall River, Precincts 2, 3, of the town of Freetown, and Ward 1 Precinct B1, and C, of the city of New Bedford, and the town of Westport, all in the county of Bristol.
St. Gelais, 42, an insurance professional, said during the primary run that he has learned a lot by campaigning in the district, beginning two years ago.
He said the district isn't being adequately represented.
St. Gelais won his hometown of Acushnet two years ago as an independent, the "most conservative town in the entire state."
Yet, he said, it's currently being represented by two state representatives who are Democrats. "I don't feel the real voice of the 8th Bristol District is being represented."
"There is absolutely a need for the real conservative voice of this district to be in the State House. And I know I'm the right person," St. Gelais said.
St. Gelais said he's proud to be a Republican as he was proud to have been an independent. But he saw that this was a two-party state and that people still needed representation. St. Gelais added that he looks at the person, not the political designation.St. Gelais said the words affordability, transparency, and accountability have been watered down after being bandied about in political rhetoric.
It takes going to the doorstep and talking to people to put a human face on "affordability," St. Gelais said. His experience in the insurance business has also taught him about the real-world issues facing people, he said.
St. Gelais said it's the real world when a district resident nearing retirement age sees an increase in their property tax bill because there's a lack of state aid to the community.
St. Gelais said he wanted to make life more affordable for the average person. One way would be to fine-tune the pursuit of the net-zero mandate for greenhouse gas emissions to reach zero emissions by 2050.
It can be set as a goal, St. Gelais said, but people shouldn't suffer financially under an unfunded mandate.
He added that state money that went to emergency shelter funding for "people that have broken the law to come here" should be "reappropriated back to our cities and towns." State funding needs to be reappropriated on essentially a common-sense needs basis, St. Gelais said.
Thrasher, 41, an attorney and public policy analyst, said during the primary campaign that one of the main reasons he was running for the post for the second time after losing by 143 votes to Ouellette in 2024 was to fight for the legislative audit.
He noted that in November 2024, Massachusetts voters gave the state auditor authority to audit the Legislature. Seventy-two percent voted yes. The Legislature has not complied, Thrasher said.
When it reached the House floor as Amendment 17 to H.2024, Ouellette voted against it, he said.
"I think it's absurd that the Legislature is just refusing to enact the will of the people. Seventy-two percent of Massachusetts' voters voted for the audit and Beacon Hill has just sat on their hands," Thrasher said.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: St. Gelais wins Republican primary for 8th Bristol District state rep