Hewins pleasantly surprised with election results, Gaskey keeping ‘options open’

When Sarah Hewins went to sleep in the early hours of Nov. 4, the Democrat trailed John Gaskey (R-Carver) heavily in the vote count. Gaskey, the incumbent state representative for the 2nd Plymouth district, won Carver and the district’s three Middleboro precincts.

When she woke up later that morning, Wareham results had been reported and she had taken the lead by 89 votes.

“If anyone ever doubted that every vote matters, this is evidence that it does,” Hewins said.

Hewins, who lives in Carver, had run for the seat in 2016 and 2018 and launched a late write-in campaign against Gaskey in 2024. She said she had tried not to get her hopes up too high but was pleasantly surprised with the results and thanked her team for their hard work in getting her across the finish line.

“It’s a tough district, I will say that,” she said. “And we certainly worked for it. It was a team effort.”

Assuming certified results confirm her victory, Hewins would be the first Democrat elected to the State House from the district since Ruth Provost, who served in the role from 1997 to 2003. Longtime Rep. Susan Gifford won the seat in the 2002 election and held it until 2024, when Gaskey defeated her in that year’s primary. 

Gaskey declared victory in a Facebook post on Nov. 3 before the Wareham results were released. He has since deleted the post.

He did not say whether he would petition for a recount. 

“We are watching the numbers and keeping our options open,” Gaskey wrote to Wareham Week. Candidates have until Nov. 13 to request a recount.

Hewins listed priorities she would bring to the State House in January:  improving government transparency, lowering utility prices and giving towns more control. She also said she will pay attention to what her constituents need, something that she said has been missing for “a couple years.”

“The point is, people need someone to listen to them, and I plan to do a lot of listening,” Hewins said.