Note: This story was updated on Nov. 6 with comments from Rep. Jake Auchincloss and the post-result statement from Bill Dermody
High school principal Joshua Tarsky’s summer and fall of relentless door-to-door campaigning was rewarded Tuesday with the Democrat’s decisive 61%-39% victory over unenrolled candidate Bill Dermody in the race to succeed Denise Garlick as state representative for the 13th Norfolk District.
“You knock on enough doors and you push long enough and people start to take you seriously and think maybe this is the right person for the job,” Tarsky said while holding signs in Needham Center two hours before the polls closed.
Four hours later, Tarsky and his small army of mostly youthful volunteers were gathered at The Common Room when his victory became apparent – albeit slowly when some glitches with Needham’s vote-counting technology delayed tabulation of the results.
In fact, it was past midnight when Tarsky, accompanied by his wife Andrea, state Sen. Becca Rausch and a small group of supporters, watched the Needham results being posted at Town Hall.
Tarsky’s margin of victory did not fluctuate much in the three 13th district communities. He earned 60.4% of the more than 19,000 votes cast in Needham. His best showing was in the two Medfield precincts, where he captured 66.2% of the vote. In Dover, he received 59.2% of the total town vote.
The 48-year old former Green Beret and National Guard major campaigned mainly on his life experiences and his commitment to service, starting with volunteering for the Army after his graduation from Yale.
He served three tours in the Army, including two in Afghanistan. He returned to the U.S., earned a master’s degree in education from Harvard and then taught in Lawrence schools before moving into school administration positions.
He has been the principal of Holbrook Middle-High School since 2022, a position he will be required to leave in January to begin his term in the Legislature.
Tarsky advanced to Tuesday’s final election by topping the field in a four-person Democratic primary in September. That victory opened the door to endorsements from a long list of Democratic elected officials —the state’s two U.S. senators, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren; Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll; U.S. congressmen and fellow veterans Jake Auchincloss and Seth Moulton; and State Auditor Diana DiZoglio.
Auchincloss was with Tarsky in Needham on election day and told the Observer “what attracts me to Tarsky as a candidate is that he’s an educator.”
Auchincloss expressed concern about the impact COVID-19 had on learning loss. “Josh is a principal, an educator. His voice I think is going to be critical at the State House in creating a sense of urgency, and also the policy response to learning loss.”
Tarsky was also supported by state Sen. Rausch, who hosted the post-election event at The Common Room where she also celebrated her overwhelming victory over her Republican challenger, Dashe Videira of Franklin.
The state representative race featured only one joint appearance by the two candidates, a Charles River Chamber Zoom forum in August. Tarsky shared similar positions on many issues with Dermody, a self-described moderate who was closer to the center on issues such as climate and housing.
The candidates were more starkly differentiated by the length of their tenure in Needham and the nature of their public service, where both candidates had considerable but varying resumes.
Dermody, a third-generation Needhamite, leaned hard into his deep and varied resume of service to his hometown, a mixture of elected and appointed town positions and numerous volunteer efforts. He also had the benefit of an endorsement from Garlick, a longtime friend who offered considerable support.
Tarsky, who moved to Needham in 2021 and failed to gain election to Town Meeting in 2022, also emphasized service, but on a broader scale. He differentiated himself from Dermody in that his service — in the military, as a teacher and as a principal — consisted of full-time work.
Tarsky also stressed that by surrendering his school position, he would be a full-time legislator. Dermody said he would maintain his job in real estate.
Due to the slow rollout of the election results, it was nearly 12:30 a.m. before Dermody called Tarsky to concede and offer his congratulations. “Bill was extremely gracious,” Tarsky said.
Dermody offered a statement on Wednesday “to congratulate Josh on his victory and for running a strong and clean campaign.
“It was amazing to meet so many wonderful people on the campaign trail and hear about the issues that are so important to all of us. I entered this race to be a voice for everyone and I am proud of the campaign we ran and for the unwavering support and dedication of my team.
“I look forward to continuing my work in the community that I love so much.”
Tarsky finally hit the road after 1 a.m., noting that he had to be ready for a significant day at Holbrook Middle-High — the first time students would be required to surrender their cell phones before heading to class.
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