Republican state Sen. Peter Durant (R-Spencer) bested his opponent Democrat and community activist Sheila Gibb to become the next senator from the Worcester and Hampshire District which includes the towns of Ware and Hardwick.
Durant’s margin of the vote was about 58% compared to Gibb’s at 41%. Durant was a long-time state representative who was elected to the Senate in a special election to replace Annie Gobi who was named by Gov. Maura Healey as her director of rural affairs.
In speaking with Reminder Publishing, Gibb said she did not think that Durant’s period of incumbency made much of a difference in the race. Rather while other Democratic candidates may have had some positive effect being on the ballot with Vice President Kamala Harris, she did not benefit from it. She said if one looks at the voting results, the greater Worcester area was a “harbinger for what was happening in this country.”
Gibb was on the ballot after winning the primary election in June as a write-in candidate.
She said she was proud of her 100-day campaign which she described as “totally grassroots.” She added that it was a “clean campaign” based on “facts and truth.”
In an interview with Reminder Publishing, she said affordable housing in Massachusetts was one of her main priorities.
When asked if she would run again for the seat in the future, she said, “No.”
Durant said he was “very happy with the results. We over-performed on every metric.”
He added that one of his top issues to address are the cost of the immigrant crisis in the state. In an interview with this newspaper earlier in the race he noted, “Our state currently has more than 50,000 migrants living in hotels costing taxpayers over $1 billion annually for housing alone.”
The other is the problem of crumbling foundations of homes and other buildings.
He said that he is willing to work with his Democratic colleagues in the Senate to find solutions to issues. He said the Senate was “fortunate because we have a lot of colleagues willing to walk across the aisle.”
Although Massachusetts was a “Blue” state in terms of presidential politics, Durant believes his victory is indicative of voters were sending a message of “we want you to work together.”
