Republican Marilinda Garcia handily defeated rival Democrat Sheila Murray in the April 28 District 4 special election for the vacant seat in the state House of Representatives.

Garcia secured 2,050 votes in District 4 – comprising Windham and Salem – to Murray’s 1,250, according to polling results released by her campaign.

Town officials in Windham reported Garcia garnered 678 votes to Murray’s 335. In neighboring Salem, Garcia took in 1,372 votes to Murray’s 915, according to Greg Moore, a member of Garcia’s campaign.

In a statement released after the polls had closed, Garcia said the margin of victory indicated that voters in both communities had given her a mandate for fiscal responsibility in Concord.

“We need representatives who will be mindful of the families who are struggling with this economy, not crush them with the burden of more taxes to pay for higher state spending,” she said.

The special election drew a larger turnout of voters than the March primary. In Salem 2,287 ballots were cast, compared to about 1,000 last month. Windham reported about 10 percent of registered voters hit the polls, casting 1,013 ballots.

The District 4 seat was vacated earlier this year after Republican Mark Pearson stepped down to take a job with the town of Hudson.