Westport voters will head to the polls in Tuesday’s Republican primary to determine who will take on Eighth Bristol District Rep. Steven Ouellette in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election and face longtime state Sen. Michael Rodrigues for the First Bristol and Plymouth District Senate seat he has held since 2011. Ouellette and Rodrigues, both Democrats, aren’t subject to primary races this year because there are no other Democratic candidates.

Eighth Bristol representative

Westport Republican Christopher Thrasher, who narrowly lost to Ouellette in his first campaign two years ago, is throwing his hat back in the ring, as is Acushnet’s Jesse W. St. Gelais, who ran as an independent two years ago before switching his party affiliation to the GOP.

Ouellette barely squeezed out a victory in his 2024 bid to fill Paul Schmid’s former seat, earning 7,290 votes to Thrasher’s 7,147 across the five towns that comprise the district — all of Westport and parts of Fall River, Acushnet, Freetown and New Bedford. St. Gelais, then an independent, finished third.

St. Gelais did not respond to emails left through his website or Facebook page. But Thrasher said Friday that he looks forward to earning the Republican nomination Tuesday. He believes Ouellette’s record during his first two years will help him break through where he came up short the last time around.

“I haven’t gone anywhere” over the last two years, said Thrasher, who serves on the Westport school, audit and offshore wind advisory committees. “A lot of people would have taken their lump and gone home after that loss. But I’ve been putting in the work.”

Looking back at Ouellette’s first term, Thrasher said his chances should be bolstered by what he called the Democrat’s “abysmal” voting record. Ouellette introduced two bills during his first term, Thrasher said, and those were resubmissions of bills previously submitted when Schmid held the seat.

“I do think that unfortunately Steve won with 35 percent of the vote, and that tracks because he’s been doing about 35 percent of the job.”

That’s not true, Ouellette said last week, acknowledging that Thrasher and St. Gelais have made an issue of his voting record and have been “extra negative” in their campaigning this year.

“The big thing is that there’s 7,000 bills” out there, he said. “I only want to do what’s necessary — I’m not for over-regulating anything.”

To that end, Ouellette said, the issues he continues to work on and advocate for are as important as they were two years ago: protecting farmers who are under more pressure than ever, getting housing prices under control, finding ways to reduce the Commonwealth’s “skyrocketing” utility prices, and working on social causes he said continue to be as important as ever — suicide prevention and mental health, substance abuse prevention, assistance for struggling families and more.

Much as Thrasher said he believes Ouellette’s record benefits his chances, Ouellette said last week that last year’s general election results — in which Trump carried Bristol County — help his as well.

“The economy is a mess right now,” Ouellette said. “I’m guessing 75 percent of the farmers voted for Trump (last time) … and I’m sure most of them are sorry for that now.”

In the face of economic uncertainty, a decline in support from the federal government and rising prices in nearly every segment of the economy, Ouellette said the last two years have shown very clearly that there needs to be a return to common sense.

“There’s so much to do,” he said.

First Bristol and Plymouth Senate

This year’s race for Rodrigues’ seat will be the first subject to a Republican primary in half a century.

Rodrigues, who did not return a phone call left at his office Monday, has represented the First Bristol and Plymouth District as a state senator since 2011, one of the state’s longest tenures. The district comprises the towns of Westport, Fall River, Somerset, Swansea, Freetown, Rochester and Lakeville.

Republican hopefuls Gabriel “Boomer” Amaral of Fall River and Manny Silva, a retired teacher’s aide and IT professional from Somerset, both seek the Republican endorsement. Amaral did not return a message left by the Shorelines, but Silva said he threw his hat in the ring because “somebody’s got to challenge” Rodrigues.

Amaral, who was endorsed by the Westport Republican Town Committee last month, considers himself a Reagan Republican.

“I’ve never been involved in politics, but I’ve always been involved in local issues, especially during the Reagan years — he helped formulate my conservative values.”

Though he had some Democratic leanings in his early years, Silva said, “I saw the light. I am a very conservative Republican.”

Apart from his endorsement by the Westport GOP, Silva was endorsed late last week by the National Rifle Association, “something I’m very proud of.”

In a nutshell, he said, he is going after Rodrigues because, as the chairman of Ways and Means, “he controls the budget” and “I picture him as aiding and abetting Maura Healey.”

“Many people can see what the budget is doing when prices go higher and higher, and he’s helped a lot of that agenda go through. He is responsible for much of this chaos that is happening for a lot of people in these towns.”

Note: All Westport polling stations will be open for the Tuesday, Sept. 1, primaries. In addition, early voting is ongoing at Westport Town Hall. See the town’s website for more information and sample ballots.