After choosing not to concede when Attorney Allison Cartwright declared victory in the Democratic primary Tuesday, Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy lamented the loss of a $190,000 Suffolk clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court gig the next day.

Murphy, an at-large city councilor in her second term, admitted defeat early Wednesday afternoon, after Boston’s unofficial election results, the last of four involved cities and towns to be finalized, made it clear she was handily beat by Cartwright, by a roughly 60% to 40% margin and nearly 10,000 votes.

“Life is not measured by the victories or defeats we encounter, but by the wisdom we gain, the resilience we develop and the meaningful connections we build along the way,” Murphy wrote in a social media post. “After this campaign, I’ve grown both wiser and stronger, and I’m truly grateful for the new friendships I’ve gained.”

“I’ll take a couple of days to regroup and reset, and then return refreshed and ready to continue making a positive impact across the city,” Murphy wrote.

Murphy, per a source, chose not to concede defeat when Cartwright, a political newcomer backed by Boston’s progressive contingent, declared victory at about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday because she had not been privy to Boston’s election results, which started to materialize on the city website around midnight.

The moderate city councilor is seen as an antagonist of the progressive Mayor Michelle Wu, who endorsed Cartwright and was present for her victory speech in Jamaica Plain, where Wu shared, according to a tweet from a Dorchester Reporter editor, that Cartwright’s margin of victory in Boston was “insurmountable.”

By that point in the night, it was determined that Murphy had won Winthrop, but Cartwright won in Chelsea and, per a source, was on track to win in Revere, giving her, according to the mayor’s assessment, wins in three of the four cities and towns, including Boston, by far the largest and most impactful.

Results from Revere were posted around midnight, confirming the Cartwright victory there, by a 45.4% to 39.9% margin — and results appearing overnight in Boston showed Cartwright’s victory, which continued to grow until, by the next day, she won by nearly 20% in a race that was seen as much tighter Tuesday night.

Cartwright won Chelsea, 58.5% to 40.8%, while Murphy won Winthrop, by a 52.6% to 45.7% margin. The race was determined largely in Boston, however, with nearly 60,000 votes cast for Suffolk SJC clerk, compared to between 1,000 and 2,700 ballots punched in the other three municipalities.

“This is not a victory for me,” Cartwright told supporters at her Jamaica Plain election night party. “This is a victory for us. This is a victory for democracy, a victory for the independence of our courts, and especially our state’s highest court.”

Related Articles

In hot Boston race, Allison Cartwright declares victory over Erin Murphy for Suffolk SJC clerk

Boston stands to gain 225 new liquor licenses after House, Senate reach deal

In Boston’s hottest race, Suffolk SJC clerk candidates facing heat over integrity issues ahead of primary

Boston Mayor Wu is on vacation, leaving the City Council president in charge

Amid budget crunch, Boston Mayor Wu looking to squeeze higher PILOT payments from tax-exempt nonprofits

Cartwright said she could not have won without “people like Mayor Michelle Wu,” who also notched a big win in last fall’s election when her entire slate of endorsed progressive candidates won seats on the City Council and is prepping for her own 2025 reelection bid. The public defender thanked the outgoing longtime Suffolk SJC Clerk Maura Doyle, who was also present while she was declaring victory, for her roughly 30 years of service.

Doyle announced her retirement last February, setting off what quickly became a battle of Boston’s progressive and moderate sectors, with politicians in those respective camps throwing their support behind Cartwright and Murphy.

Cartwright, 62, has 32 years of legal experience and currently works as a managing director for the Committee for Public Counsel Services. She and her allies often touted her legal experience as making her more qualified for the SJC clerk role than Murphy, a former Boston schoolteacher and current at-large city councilor.

Murphy, 54, who cruised to a second two-year term on the Council last fall, spoke throughout the campaign about how she was more than qualified for the clerk position, given that it was administrative and managerial in nature.

The $190,000 gig represented a pay bump for both. Murphy makes $115,000 on the City Council and Cartwright puts her current salary at about $150,000.