A 46-year-old former Buddhist monk who arrived in the U.S. as a child refugee of the Khmer Rouge has been re-elected to the Massachusetts legislature, defeating a fellow Cambodian for a seat representing the blue-collar city of Lowell.
Rady Mom, a Democrat who first won the seat in 2014, blitzed his Republican challenger, Kamara Kay, with a tally of 7,985 votes to 3,091, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s election published by local media.
“Every day I wake up excited to do the work I do,” Mr. Mom told the Lowell Sun in an interview at the Pailin City Restaurant in Lowell, a city about 50 km from Boston and home to nearly 40,000 Cambodian-Americans.
“I will work every day so I can earn your vote in my next re-election.” Born in Pailin province as the son of a ruby miner and village chief, Mom, an acupuncturist, arrived in the U.S. in 1982.
His rival, Mr. Kay, is a 44-year-old IT specialist who was born in Battambang province and move to the U.S. at the age of 8.
