Last Tuesday, Wayland voters went to the polls to vote on several candidates for local offices, as well as for one of two candidates in a special election to fill the empty Norfolk, Bristol, and Middlesex district state Senate seat. In the state Senate election, Republican Richard Ross, a state representative and funeral home owner from Wrentham, defeated Democrat Peter Smulowitz, a physician from Needham, 62% to 38%.

However, Smulowitz garnered 59% of the vote in Wayland.

A variety of factors may have caused Richard Ross’s victory. The Democratic primary between Smulowitz and his opponent Needham state Rep. Lida Harkins turned bitter, with Smulowitz accusing Harkins of ethical violations and Harkins dismissing Smulowitz as engaging in “gutter politics”. While Smulowitz ultimately beat Harkins, he may have alienated some of her supporters.

In addition, many recent polls have shown the state and the country trending more conservative in the upcoming November elections. Historically, midterm elections after a president’s first election are bad for the incumbent party.

Ross’s district has a slightly conservative bent compared to the rest of Massachusetts – Scott Brown won re-election in 2008 by a 59%-41% margin. This victory allows the Republicans to retain a seat rather than gain one. If Smulowitz had won, it would have only changed the make-up of the state from an overwhelming 35-5 Democratic majority to a 36-4 majority.

The districts Ross will now represent include the communities of Millis, Needham, Norfolk, North Attleborough, Plainville, Sherborn, Wayland, and Wrentham, and includes portions of Attleboro, Franklin, Natick, and Wellesley. It is a thin area that starts in the suburbs of Boston and extends down to the Rhode Island border.

The state Senate seat was previously held by another Republican, Scott Brown. Brown defeated Democrat Attorney General Martha Coakley, the presumptive favorite, in a January vote to fill Ted Kennedy’s U.S. Senate seat, in a major upset. Brown only took a lead in the race in the last week of the campaign, and his victory shocked political analysts nationwide.

Ross and Smulowitz may face one another again this fall, if Smulowitz chooses to run again, as the seat will again be up for a vote.