WATERVILLE -- Henry Beck defeated Antone C. "T.J." Tavares III for Maine House of Representatives District 76 in Tuesday's Democratic primary election.

The District 76 seat, which is being vacated by Marilyn Canavan, D-Waterville, covers part of Waterville and Oakland. Canavan has served four terms and has reached her term limit.

Beck, a city councilor who will enter his senior year at Colby College in the fall, beat Tavares, a former city councilor and Colby alumnus, 396 to 68, with Beck receiving 367 votes in Waterville and Tavares 50 in Waterville alone. Both live in Waterville.

Beck, who represents Ward 2 on the City Council, will face Republican Andrew Kabatznick of Waterville in November. Kabatznick is a 2008 Colby College graduate and was treasurer for the Colby College Republicans. He is from Connecticut.

"I am humbled by our large victory tonight," Beck said after the votes were tallied. "I want to thank Mr. Tavares for running and for his service. I look forward to beginning the general election campaign tomorrow and reaching out to more voters, so I can go to Augusta to bring real solutions for the families I grew up with in Waterville and Oakland."

Tavares said he wishes Beck luck.

"I think he'll do a great job," he said.

In other races, Skowhegan Democrat Jeffrey McCabe defeated Democrat Mitchell Snowman, also of Skowhegan, for House District 85. The vote was 295 to 42.

McCabe, who is director for Lake George Regional Park, will face Rep. Donna Finley, R-Skowhegan, in the November election. House District 85 covers Skowhegan.

"I think it's sort of a good kick-off for the next phase, and it was good to meet a lot of unenrolled voters and Republican voters and get the pledge of support for the fall," McCabe said late Tuesday.

In House District 78, which includes Oakland and part of Sidney, Republican Robert Nutting, of Oakland, beat Republican Erick Bennett, also of Oakland. The vote was 297 to 54. Nutting received 160 votes in Oakland and 137 votes in Sidney; Bennett took 29 votes in Oakland and 25 in Sidney.

Nutting will face Democrat Jeremy Caron, of Sidney, in the general election.

Rep. Edward Finch, D-Fairfield, defeated Democrat and former state lawmaker Paul Tessier, also of Fairfield, in House District 84, which covers Fairfield, Smithfield and Rome.

The vote was 341 to 115.

Finch received 255 votes in Fairfield, 39 in Smithfield and 47 in Rome; Tessier got 103 in Fairfield, 5 in Smithfield and 7 in Rome.

Finch, who is completing his sixth year in the House, will face Miles Ranger, a Republican from Fairfield, come November.

Finch said in March that he wanted to keep his seat because the next two years will be critical for education funding, reorganization and graduation requirements. Tessier, who sells real estate part-time and is an unpaid president of the Thomas M. Teague Biotechnology Center's Board of Trustees, served six years in the House, ending in 2002.

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com