Incumbent State Rep. Jonah Wheeler narrowly defeated write-in challenger Amanda Allen in the Sept. 8 Democratic primary for Hillsborough County District 33, securing a key spot on the general election ballot alongside incumbent Rep. Peter Leishman.
In one of the only contested races in the Sept. 8 primary, Wheeler beat Allen by a 15-vote margin, with nearly half of registered voters participating. Wheeler won with 749 votes, defeating Allen with 734 votes. Incumbent Peter Leishman received 1,144 votes.
Allen is evaluating whether to request a recount following voter confusion over write-in ballot formatting. Voters wrote “Allen” or “Amanda” on the ballot instead of her full name.
According to Peterborough Town Clerk Linda Guyette, the ballots must read full names to be counted, but Allen said she has contacted the Secretary of State to follow up. Guyette explained that under state standards, voters or candidates can request a recount if the original outcome has a 10-vote or 1.5% margin; in Allen’s case, she is below the 1.5% threshold.
“It’s a priority that for the people that showed up for me that those votes get counted,” Allen said.
On Tuesday, 2,005 votes were cast, which is 43.16% of the 4,646 registered voters in Peterborough. Just before 6 p.m., the town was close to running out of ballots, as the state expected approximately 22-24% of registered voters to attend the primaries, according to Guyette. In the end, the town provided additional absentee ballots, allowing them to continue using the machines to count votes.
Either way, Allen plans to continue her write-in campaign for the November general election.
“I think it’s incredible the amount of momentum we got over two weeks,” she said. “I hope that Representative Wheeler hears that message.”
Allen started her campaign 13 days before the election because she did not feel represented by Wheeler’s recent votes.
One of the more contentious votes was Wheeler’s division from the Democratic Party to support a bill allowing government and businesses to separate bathrooms and locker rooms based on biological sex instead of gender identity, which he claims protects women’s privacy and safety.
Additionally, she has campaigned in support of gun safety laws, which Wheeler previously voted against in 2023 as the sole Democrat.
On Wednesday morning, Wheeler said Tuesday’s primary was a “tough and competitive election.”
“I am thankful for Peter Leishman, who ran a campaign of honor and integrity and presented the facts of what we have accomplished and the vision he brought forward. We have served together in the statehouse for four years, and we used our record of accomplishments and experience to come up with a platform that was successful so that we can continue to serve the people of Peterborough and Sharon. It is an honor to be running with someone as respected and experienced as Peter Leishman,” Wheeler said.
When asked how he felt about Allen’s intention to continue her write-in campaign in November, Wheeler said he would welcome the challenge.
“I absolutely welcome it, as it would allow for a debate to happen, which would be preferable, because this was a 10-day campaign with no opportunity for debate,” Wheeler said.
Allen must submit her recount request to the Secretary of State by 5 p.m. on Friday.
