Democrat James Albis is East Haven's newest state representative, defeating Republican Linda Monaco for the 99th District seat in Tuesday's special election.

Albis replaces long-time state representative Mike Lawlor, who resigned from the post to accept a position within Gov. Dannel Malloy's administration.

Albis defeated Monaco by an unofficial tally of 1,423 to 1,331. It was a very light voter turnout: of 12,697 East Haven residents registered to vote, 2,754 votes were cast (including 334 absentee ballots) for a 21.7 percent total turnout.

Moments after the votes were tallied, Albis said he was "relieved" that the six-week campaign was over, but said that "the hard work is about to begin."

He said tackling the state budget was going to be first on the agenda.

Albis said he was very thankful for the help of many volunteers who worked on his campaign, and credited Monaco for running a clean and cordial campaign.

Monaco, who lost to Lawlor in his re-election bid last November, could not be reached for comment.