Election Result: Nguyen Wins Re-Election In 18th Essex District

MASSACHUSETTS — Incumbent Democrat Tram Nguyen won re-election in the 18th Essex District state representative race against Republican Jeff Dufour, Tuesday.

Nguyen carried all four towns in the district — Andover, Boxford, North Andover and Tewksbury. She took over 60 percent of the two-party vote.

"I'm humbled and honored that the voters of the 18th Essex District have decided they would like me to serve another term," Nguyen said. "I want to thank my opponent for running, because democracy functions best when voters have options. There is no doubt in my mind that Jeff cares about this community despite our different visions for it."

Dufour said he was "really pleased" to have won over 10,000 votes, having started running just six months ago.

"It was a pretty good campaign," Dufour said. "I was able to speak to Rep. Nguyen today, and that was one of the things I had shared with her, we had a good campaign. We had an issues campaign."

Nguyen, an Andover attorney, unseated four-term representative Jim Lyons in 2018 in a race that caught the attention of some national Democrats, including former President Barack Obama. She won re-election by over 6,000 votes.

Nguyen thanked her campaign volunteers.

"Campaigning in a pandemic was not easy, but my countless volunteers who gave their time, their money, phone banked, text banked, and helped us devise a contactless signature collection process made it work," Nguyen said. "I am blown away by their kindness and constant support. I'm also so thankful for my family and their constant love and support. I couldn't have done this without the wonderful people in my corner."

Dufour, a Tewksbury resident who works in information systems and management, was running for his first elected office. He instead what he called a "small grass roots campaign" as Nguyen has held a commanding fundraising lead throughout the campaign.

"I'm really pleased with the outcome," Dufour said. "It would've been good to win, but I'm really pleased with that number."

"We've got a lot of work to do on Beacon Hill and some important bills waiting to be passed," Nguyen said. "I'm eager to get back to the job of legislating and making sure my constituents' voices are heard in these decisions."

More 2020 Election Coverage: Election Results: Polls Close In Massachusetts

With all precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press and the Andover, North Andover and Tewksbury town clerks. The incumbent is marked with an asterisk (*). If the race has been called, the winning candidate is in bold.

18th Essex District

Tram Nguyen (Democrat)* — 16,353 — 61.9 percent

Jeff Dufour (Republican) — 10,081 — 38.1 percent