Lori Trahan, Dan Koh Third District Congressional Primary Race Too Close To Call

LOWELL (CBS/AP) – One of the nation's most crowded congressional races is still too close to call.  Lori Trahan holds a razor-thin lead over Dan Koh in the Third District primary in Massachusetts.

With 100-percent of the precincts now reporting, Trahan has 18,368 votes (21.64-percent) to Koh's 18,316 votes (21.58-percent), just 52 votes separating them. Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin ordered all ballots in the race be sealed and locked up so they can't be tampered with if there's a recount.

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"I am confident that I am your Democratic nominee," Trahan told a crowd of supporters early Wednesday afternoon at UMass Lowell. She did not take questions from reporters.

"Given the closeness of the results in the 3rd CD — with 85,000 votes cast and only a handful of votes separating the top two finishers - and the fact that all ballots, including possibly hundreds of provisional ballots, have not been counted, it's clear that the final outcome of the election will not be known for a few days," Koh's campaign said in a statement Wednesday.

"Dan Koh is committed to making sure all ballots are counted. Secretary of State Galvin has already responsibly impounded the votes in the 3rd district to ensure the accuracy of the results, and the Koh campaign will be reviewing the process for a recount to ensure everyone who voted is properly counted. He is proud to have been part of a group of Democratic candidates in the 3rd who campaigned so hard to make a real difference in this country and if — at the end of this process — Lori is declared the winner, Dan will offer his enthusiastic support for her in the general election."

Ten candidates ran for Democratic Rep. Niki Tsongas's open congressional seat, which stretches from Lowell and Lawrence to Concord and suburbs west of Boston.

Koh is the former chief of staff to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Trahan was the chief of staff to former Rep. Marty Meehan.

The winner will face Republican Rick Green in the November election.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)