South Portland voters have chosen Democrat Matthew Beck to represent them in the Maine House.

On Tuesday, Beck, 65, defeated unenrolled candidates Tristram Howard, 25, and Brendan Williams, 35.

Unofficial election nights showed Beck with 1,206 votes, followed by Williams with 239 votes, and Howard with 175, according to results from the city clerk’s office.

“I’m really honored by the support of the people of House District 122,” Beck said. “I know there’s a lot of work to do and I’m anxious to get to it.”

Beck said he will be in Augusta Wednesday to be sworn in to office.

The three candidates ran in the special election for the district that represents part of South Portland, which became vacant when Rep. Lois Galgay Reckitt, a Democrat, passed away in October.

Beck, a recently retired union organizer, will serve out the remainder of Galgay Reckitt’s term, which ends in December.

He will step into a legislative session that is moving at a rapid clip toward a planned April 17 adjournment. Major fights on the state budget are ahead, along with votes on proposed gun legislation and potential action on bills to expand tribal rights.

Beck believes that he’s well position to hit the ground running, having already done political and legislative work on behalf of unions.

“I know how things work there,” he told Spectrum News last month. “Whoever wins on March 5 is going to be right in the deep end of the pool.”