Paul Donato Projected Winner Of 2022 Medford, Malden State Rep. Race

MEDFORD, MA — A close race for the 35th Middlesex District state house seat in Malden and Medford appeared to reach its conclusion on Wednesday, with unofficial results from the Malden and Medford city clerks showing a 50.5 percent - 49.5 percent win for incumbent Paul Donato over challenger Nichole Mossalam.

Rep. Paul Donato received 3,026 votes over Nichole Mossalam’s 2,964, according to the Associated Press. In Medford, 2,229 residents voted for Donato and 2,029 voted for Mossalam. In Malden, Mossalam beat Donato with 935 votes to his 797.

In total, just 62 votes separated the candidates. Though 100 percent of voted has been counted as of 1 p.m, the Associated Press had not officially called the race.

Donato thanked voters in an interview with Patch early Wednesday afternoon and congratulated Mossalam on a campaign that came down to the wire.

"She did what she said she was going to do and it resonated with constituents," Donato said.

Patch has reached out to Mossalam for comment and will update this article when we hear back.

With no Republican candidates on the ballot in the 35th Middlesex District, the winner of this week's primary will likely win a seat in the State Legislature in November.

Two decades after first winning his way into the state legislature, Donato faced criticism from Mossalam and some voters during this year's campaign over his past stances on issues ranging from abortion to LGBTQ+ rights.

He addressed those complaints before the election and again on Wednesday in his post-election comments.

"The district has changed and I’m changing with the district to make sure that I hear their voices and that they’re well represented," he said.

Moving forward, Donato said he now has his eyes set on what he said would be benefits of the state's proposed "millionaires tax." Set to appear on ballots in November, the initiative would add an extra 4 percent tax on Massachusetts residents earning more than $1 million per year.

Donato said the money could benefit education and transportation causes, noting ongoing teacher shortages, issues with the MBTA and crumbling bridge infrastructure, among other things.

"We still need to do more," he said of current state education spending.

"We’ve got to face a major problem in transportation," he added.

(Annie Sandoli is a Patch field editor covering Brookline, Newton, Waltham, Somerville, Arlington, and Medford. She can be reached at Annie.Sandoli@Patch.com.)