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Watch the moment Ayanna Pressley learned she won the primary race

Watch the moment when Ayanna Pressley learned she won
Watch the moment when Ayanna Pressley learned she won

It starts with a look of shock, followed by a quick glance into the camera, and then a waterfall of happy tears after Ayanna Pressley learned she had won the Democratic nomination for the Seventh District US House seat in Massachusetts on Tuesday night.

Sitting in the back of the IBEW Local 103 hall in Dorchester, Pressley jumps up from her seat after a moment of shock, half-asking, half-stating, “We won? We won?”

In a video clip of the moment, her family and staff can be heard shrieking and crying in the background as Pressley begins to hug those around her.

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“Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god,” Pressley said through tears.

Sarah Groh, Pressley’s campaign manager, said Pressley had been taking a moment with her extended family when the senior staff walked in to share the good news.

“She asked what was going on and why we were all in the room and I said, ‘We just wanted to say hi to our next congresswoman,’ ” Groh wrote in a text.

Pressley’s win over 10-term incumbent Representative Michael Capuano was among the night’s biggest upsets. With no Republicans running in November, Pressley is poised to become the first woman of color from Massachusetts to serve in the US House.


Felicia Gans can be reached at felicia.gans@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @FeliciaGans.