Brownsberger, Lander Race Too Close to Call With 99% of Ballots Counted

Incumbent state Senator William N. Brownsberger ’78 and Daniel A. Lander ’14 were neck-and-neck by the time 99 percent of votes had been counted just after 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Brownsberger narrowly held a 61-vote lead, raising the possibility of a recount in the first contested primary of his 14-year tenure. Though the Associated Press did not formally call the race, Brownsberger had 11,997 votes, compared to Lander’s 11,936.

Lander is Brownsberger’s first challenger for the state Senate seat, and the race marks the first time the incumbent has received less than 98 percent of the primary vote since taking office in 2013.

Lander mounted an aggressive campaign to unseat the incumbent, who holds the third-highest rank in the Senate. He entered the election with the backing of U.S. Senator Elizabeth A. Warren (D-Mass.), Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07, and a host of donors from the biotechnology sector.

Brownsberger leaned on his decadeslong record against his challenger, a former senior policy aide to Wu who had not previously run for office.