A 19-year-old Democrat who graduated from high school last year has won a seat in the Massachusetts House, unseating a Republican incumbent who had held it for 16 years.
Daniel Darris-O’Connor defeated Marc Lombardo in the 22nd Middlesex District by 438 votes, 8,968 to 8,530, according to unofficial town totals. Lombardo, an eight-term incumbent, posted a message on social media acknowledging the close loss.
Darris-O’Connor, from Billerica, is a 2025 graduate of Billerica High School and a student at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He will turn 20 the day before he is sworn in at the State House in January, making him one of the youngest members of the Massachusetts House.
The Massachusetts House race in Billerica
Darris-O’Connor was 18 when he was elected to the select board of Billerica, and he is believed to be the youngest select board member in the town’s history. He told WHDH 7News he was ready to get to work on Beacon Hill.
The race was part of Tuesday’s midterm elections, in which Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress at the federal level. The Boston Globe reported that Darris-O’Connor was among the youngest members of the Democratic blue wave.
Born on 5 January 2007, Darris-O’Connor was still a teenager when voters in his district chose him over a lawmaker first elected when he was a small child. He will assume office on 6 January 2027, succeeding Lombardo as representative for the 22nd Middlesex District.
The margin was less than 500 votes in a district Lombardo had held through eight terms. Lombardo’s concession message on social media brought the contest to a close without a recount.
The Massachusetts House seat had been Lombardo’s since 2010, when he first won the district. Sixteen years later, a candidate born in 2007 took it from him by fewer than 500 votes.
A Massachusetts House campaign built on local issues
Darris-O’Connor ran on cost-of-living issues and local representation. He promised to restore state funding and earmarks to Billerica, and he contrasted that with Lombardo’s record of often not filing local earmarks.
He told reporters he wanted to make changes in the town he grew up in. The campaign focused on town-level concerns rather than national politics, and it found an audience in a district that had returned Lombardo to office eight times.
The Massachusetts House result drew attention beyond the state. CNN reported the win, and WCVB in Boston said Darris-O’Connor would be one of the youngest representatives in state history. Boston 25 News called it a major Election Day upset in Billerica.
Voters in the district had backed Lombardo eight times before Tuesday. Darris-O’Connor’s win broke that run and gave the Massachusetts House one of its youngest members.
Darris-O’Connor said he was ready to make changes in the town he grew up in, and his campaign kept its focus on what Billerica needed from Beacon Hill rather than on the national arguments dominating the midterm campaign.
What comes next in the Massachusetts House
Darris-O’Connor has said he is ready to get to work for his constituents on Beacon Hill. At 20, he will be one of the youngest members in the chamber’s history, and his first session will test the promises he made about funding and earmarks for Billerica.
Darris-O’Connor will take his seat in January. His age sets him apart in the Massachusetts House, and his campaign promises will be measured against what he delivers for Billerica. His win was reported by WHDH 7News, WCVB, Boston 25 News and CNN, each noting his age and the length of Lombardo’s time in office.
The result was one of several surprises in Tuesday’s voting, in which Democrats made gains in places Republicans had long held. For Billerica, it means a new voice in Boston after 16 years under the same representative.
His win also adds a young voice to a legislature that rarely sees members under 25. Darris-O’Connor will join the Massachusetts House in January as its newest and youngest member, carrying a mandate built on local issues.