Watertown's Marilyn Petitto Devaney won a narrow victory in the primary for the Third District of the Governor's Council Thursday with the help of voters in her hometown and Waltham.

With 264 of 270 precincts reporting in 32 communities, Devaney won with 16,956 votes, ahead of Brookline's Harry Margolis' 14,269 and 9,830 for Charlie Shapiro of Newton, according to results reported to the Boston Globe by the Associated Press, and Waltham results gathered by Waltham Patch.

"I always say, I don't own the seat, but I love the job," Devaney said.

Devaney will face independent candidate Tom Sheff in the November general election when she seeks her eighth term on the Governor's Council.

She fared well in Watertown, where she got 1,058 votes (53 percent), and in Waltham where she got 1,592 votes (53 percent). She also fared well in Belmont (1,045 votes), Arlington (1,709), Lexington (938), Concord (949), Woburn (830) and Marlborough (775).

This year Devaney dealt with a significantly different district. About 1/5 of the district changed, including losing Cambridge and Lowell. 

Margolis fared very well in his hometown, where he received 3,502 votes, or 81 percent of the tallies. He also won in Newton with 2,717 votes, which was even more than hometown candidate Shapiro's 2,584. Devaney won the rest of the communities.