Gessen Beats Bergstrom In County Commission Primary

September 02, 2026

by Staff Reports

Chatham’s Ronald Bergstrom lost his seat on the Barnstable County Commission to challenger Daniel Gessen in Tuesday’s state primary election.

Preliminary results show that although Bergstrom had a strong showing on the Lower Cape in Tuesday’s Democratic state primary, Gessen’s support on the Upper Cape won him a spot on the Nov. 3 election ballot. Bergstrom served on the county panel since 2019; prior to that he served on the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates and as a Chatham Selectman.

In the only other Cape-wide contested race, incumbent District Attorney Robert Galibois handily beat Democratic challenger Michael Giardino.

Incumbent Edward Markey won the Democratic primary for senate over challenger Seth Moulton both in local results and statewide. Ninth Congressional District Congressman William Keating also beat back a challenge from Craig Swallow.

Fourth Congressional District Rep. Hadley Luddy and Cape and Islands Senator Julian Cyr were unopposed. In the First Barnstable District, which includes Brewster, Democrat Christopher Lambton won the Democratic primary over Steven Leibowitz. In Brewster, it was Dennis Select Board member Lambton over Leibowitz 1,211 to 1,107.

Here are the unofficial results from Lower Cape towns in contested Democratic races. No races were contested on the Republican ballot.

In Brewster, Galibois topped Giardino 1,607 to 694. Keating beat Swallow 1,959 to 409. Markey won 1,599 votes to Moulton’s 826. Bergstrom received 1,180 votes to Gessen’s 738, with Eric Schwaab receiving 296 votes.

Chatham backed Markey over Moulton 831 to 593, Keating won 1,126 to Swallow’s 227, and Galibois received 937 votes to Giardino’s 353. In the county commissioner race, Bergstrom received 999 votes to 226 for Gessen and 112 for Schwaab.

In Harwich, Markey beat Moulton 1,708 to 1,050, Keating bested Swallow 2,162 to 519, and Galibois topped Giardino 1,726 to 897. Bergstrom topped his challengers with 1,428 votes to 655 for Gessen and 464 for Schwaab.

Orleans voters also choose Markey over Moulton 986 to 608, with Keating beating Swallow 1,293 to 247. Galibois won 1,049 to Giardino’s 432, while Bergstrom earned 860 votes to 352 for Gessen and 231 for Schwaab.