Sheldon Wins Close Republican Race, Facing Bill Keating in November

After a very close race, results released by the Secretary of State's Office in the numbers for the 9th Congressional District Republican primary show that Christopher Sheldon of Plymouth has won by a mere 79 votes.

According to numbers released by the Secretary of State’s office Tuesday, candidate Christopher Sheldon received 11,046 votes. Adam Chaprales of Barnstable had 10,967 votes.

Sheldon will face Democrat Bill Keating in November's general election. 

In a statement to supporters, Sheldon said he was humbled "by the outpouring of support these past few days and the faith placed in me by the voters of the 9th Congressional District.

"I cannot thank my friends, family and supporters enough for the tireless amount of work they did on my behalf. I would also like to thank my primary opponent, Adam Chaprales, for running a positive and strong campaign.  He absolutely pushed me to become a better candidate and I appreciate the support he has already demonstrated."

Late last Thursday night, it appeared that Chaprales had the edge, with counts giving him between .

Wednesday, Chaprales issued a statement through his campaign's website:

I am disappointed to learn of this result, but I immediately called Chris Sheldon to congratulate him on a hard-fought race and to pledge him my full support in the general election. I am also notifying the Secretary of State that I am releasing the Sheldon campaign from its request to have certain votes recounted, out of my belief that a recount would not serve the best interest of the municipal governments that would need to fund it or the Republican Party as it chooses a nominee.

I would like to thank all of you for your consistent support and encouragement throughout the process. I will forever remember your efforts on my behalf, and I am grateful for all you did.

Sheldon immediately turned his sights toward Keating, who currently represents the 10th Massachusetts District, but due to redistricting is running for the newly drawn 9th District.

Going forward our campaign isn't going to pull any punches when it comes to our race against Representative Keating. Unlike the 2010 race, he isn't going to be able to hide in his basement and run a mud slinging campaign. He will have to debate me on the issues, he will have to explain why he voted against repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) 31 times, how the policies he has voted for and support have repeatedly failed to turn this economy around, and why - after serving in elected office since the age of 25 - he considers himself to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.