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Dorcena Forry Wins 'Southie' State Senate Seat

The Massachusetts state Senate seat long held by men from South Boston has been won by a woman from Dorchester.

Democratic state Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry on Tuesday won an overwhelming victory over Republican Joseph Ureneck in the special election for the First Suffolk seat. Dorcena Forry got more than 80 percent of the votes, according to unofficial results.

Dorcena Forry replaces Jack Hart, who resigned for a private sector job.

The seat has long been held by Irish-American men from South Boston. Current U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch held the seat before Hart, and former state Senate President William Bulger held it for 25 years before Lynch. Dorcena Forry is of Haitian descent.

She says she's looking forward to serving the entire district, which includes Mattapan and parts of Hyde Park.

"This is the first time there's a woman in this seat, this is the first time there's a woman of color in this seat," she said. "So, really, I look forward to working with everyone."

State House Race

In a separate race, Boston attorney Jay Livingstone won the Democratic nomination for a vacant seat in the state House of Representatives.

Livingstone defeated Josh Dawson in Tuesday's primary. The district includes the Back Bay and Beacon Hill neighborhoods of Boston, along with portions of Cambridge.

The seat became vacant when former Rep. Martha Walz resigned to head the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.

There was no Republican candidate on the primary ballot, but Victor Navarro of Cambridge had launched a write-in campaign. There was no immediate word if Navarro had gained the minimum 150 write-in votes required for nomination.

The election will be held June 25, the same day as voting for the U.S. Senate seat previously held by John Kerry.

With reporting by The Associated Press and the WBUR Newsroom.

Earlier Coverage:

This article was originally published on May 29, 2013.

This program aired on May 29, 2013. The audio for this program is not available.

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