Still No Winner In 6th Worcester Rep. Race
WORCESTER (CBS) - Peter Durant is not entirely wrong if he calls himself the newest state representative from Worcester's Sixth District. But he isn't exactly right, either.
A week after the election, this seat is still up in the air. Republican Durant is currently ahead of incumbent Democrat Geraldo Alicea by only 4 votes – out of more than 13,000 votes cast.
"We knew it was always going to be a very, very close race," Durant told WBZ-TV's Jim Armstrong. "Actually the numbers that I came up with [prior to election night] showed it was a margin of less than a hundred."
The results are still trickling in. The town clerk in Oxford, for example, reviewed three new ballots yesterday. They had to throw one out on a technicality -- it was a military ballot that had been mailed from central Massachusetts. Military ballots need to be postmarked from overseas. Of the two remaining ballots, one went to Durant, the other to Alicea - leaving the race as it was.
"People have called me all week to say this is really exciting. And I tell them, you should stand in my shoes for a couple minutes. It's not that exciting," said Durant.
It's a real world civics lesson, according to Rep. Alicea. "I think people in the 6th Worcester District are seeing and living right now just how important their vote is."
"But now it's not about what we could have done," Alicea explained. "Now we have to focus on what to do next, and that's make sure that each vote is counted."
Alicea does plan to formally ask for a recount before this Friday's deadline. Until he does, the ballots remain in locked vaults waiting to be counted. Again.
Durant says he understands and respects Alicea's call for a recount, given the incredibly small margin that separates the candidates; he says he would do the same thing if their roles were reversed.
