Two 19-Year-Olds Win 2026 Midterm Races, Toppling an Eight-Term Incumbent

Two 19-year-olds won elected office in the November 3, 2026 midterm elections, unseating an eight-term Republican lawmaker in Massachusetts and taking one of the top elected posts in Arizona's largest county. Daniel Darris-O'Connor of Billerica, Massachusetts, beat eight-term Republican Representative Marc Lombardo for a seat in the Massachusetts House, while Sebastian Matta, a sophomore at Arizona State University, won election as Clerk of the Superior Court for Maricopa County after his Republican opponent conceded. The two victories became one of the most striking storylines of a midterm night in which Democrats flipped formerly safe Republican seats at every level of government.

Key Points

• Daniel Darris-O'Connor, 19, won the 22nd Middlesex District seat in the Massachusetts House, beating eight-term Republican Marc Lombardo by 438 votes, 8,968 to 8,530, with more than 17,000 ballots cast and over 99 percent counted.
• Sebastian Matta, 19, won election as Clerk of the Superior Court for Maricopa County, the fourth-largest county in the United States, after Republican Jeff Dial, a former state senator, conceded.
• Darris-O'Connor, a University of Massachusetts Lowell student studying international relations, won a seat on Billerica's Select Board in 2025 while still in high school.
• He will be sworn in one day after his 20th birthday in January, just missing the record of Thomas Lussier, who joined the Massachusetts House at 19 in 1977.
• Both wins came in the Democrats' midterm wave that flipped formerly safe Republican seats at all levels of government.

What Happened

In Massachusetts, Darris-O'Connor defeated Lombardo, who had held the 22nd Middlesex District seat since 2011, when his challenger was four years old. The margin was 438 votes out of more than 17,000 ballots cast, with over 99 percent of votes counted, according to Associated Press figures. Lombardo had represented the Billerica-area district for fifteen years, and the seat had been considered safe Republican territory before Tuesday's vote.

Darris-O'Connor's campaign was built on door-to-door organising in Billerica, the town where he grew up and where he already held elected office. In 2025, while still a high school student, he won a seat on Billerica's Select Board, the town's governing body. He is now a student at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he studies international relations, and he campaigned while carrying a full course load.

In Arizona, Matta won the clerk's post for the Superior Court of Maricopa County, a sprawling jurisdiction that covers the Phoenix metropolitan area and ranks as the fourth-largest county in the United States. The clerk manages court records, collects fees and oversees the administrative machinery of one of the busiest court systems in the country. Matta defeated Jeff Dial, a former state senator, who conceded the race after the results came in.

Background and Context

The 2026 midterms were fought against a backdrop of record early voting. University of Florida Election Lab data counted 58,677,062 early ballots cast by late on November 2, a record for a midterm election and about 13 million more than the 45.9 million early votes recorded before Election Day in 2022. Texas alone recorded more than 7.7 million early votes, and Florida more than 5.4 million.

Democrats entered the night favoured to capture the House of Representatives, and the results bore that out in races up and down the ballot. The party flipped governorships, broke a Republican supermajority in the Missouri legislature, and won seats in places long written off as unwinnable. The two teenage victories fit that pattern, but they also stood apart: they were not the product of national money or national attention, but of local campaigns run by candidates barely out of high school.

How Two 19-Year-Olds Won Their Midterm Races

The common thread in both campaigns was local credibility. Darris-O'Connor did not arrive in the Massachusetts House race as an outsider with a message; he arrived as a neighbour who already held office in the same town. His year on the Select Board gave voters a concrete record to judge, and his campaign leaned on door-knocking and town meetings. Matta, meanwhile, presented himself as a fresh pair of hands for an office that handles millions of court filings, and both campaigns rode a wider Democratic wave that lifted newcomers in districts long held by Republicans.

Reactions

Dial conceded the Maricopa County clerk's race, bringing that contest to a close without a drawn-out count or legal challenge. In Massachusetts, the result was confirmed with more than 99 percent of ballots counted, and the 438-vote margin left no room for doubt. The two wins quickly became a symbol of the night's generational shift, widely shared on social media.

Why It Matters

The two wins matter for what they say about who can win office in America. For decades, the typical path to a state legislature or a county office ran through years of party service, local boards and slow advancement. Darris-O'Connor compressed that path into about a year, and Matta skipped it almost entirely, yet both won. Their success suggests the barriers to entry for young candidates are lower than they have ever been, and both institutions must now make room for leaders with little experience but a direct connection to the youngest voters.

What Happens Next

Darris-O'Connor will be sworn into the Massachusetts House in January, one day after turning 20, and will take his seat for the new legislative session. His first months will be spent learning the procedures of the House, securing committee assignments and building relationships with colleagues, many of them decades older than he is. Matta, meanwhile, will take over the records and administration of one of the largest court systems in the United States.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Daniel Darris-O'Connor?
Daniel Darris-O'Connor is a 19-year-old Democrat from Billerica, Massachusetts, and a student at the University of Massachusetts Lowell studying international relations. He won a seat on Billerica's Select Board in 2025 while still in high school, then won the 22nd Middlesex District seat in the Massachusetts House in the November 3, 2026 midterms.

Who is Sebastian Matta?
Sebastian Matta is a 19-year-old Democrat and a sophomore at Arizona State University. He won election as Clerk of the Superior Court for Maricopa County, Arizona, the fourth-largest county in the United States, after Republican Jeff Dial conceded.

How close was the Massachusetts race?
Darris-O'Connor beat eight-term Republican Marc Lombardo by 438 votes, 8,968 to 8,530, with more than 17,000 ballots cast and over 99 percent counted, according to Associated Press figures.

How old will Darris-O'Connor be when he takes office?
He will be sworn in one day after his 20th birthday in January. He just misses the record of Thomas Lussier, who joined the Massachusetts House at 19 in 1977.

What does the Maricopa County Clerk of the Superior Court do?
The clerk manages court records, collects fees and oversees the administrative work of the Superior Court in Maricopa County, which covers the Phoenix metropolitan area and is one of the busiest court systems in the country.

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