Many ballots across western Massachusetts featured zero contested races for the state primary on Tuesday. But Republican voters statewide picked a nominee for the U.S. Senate.
Democratic voters decided to keep around two Springfield-area state lawmakers who faced primary challengers. And they advanced a Great Barrington Select Board member to the general election in an open state House race in southern Berkshire County.
Republican primary voters in Massachusetts picked John Deaton to face off against incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in November. Deaton — a crypto-currency attorney and Marine veteran — topped a three-candidate field.
“Tomorrow, we begin the next phase of the campaign — an effort that will hold Elizabeth Warren accountable for her failures on the border, the unaffordable cost of supporting a family, a broken healthcare system, abandoning our ally Israel, and restoring faith in our politics,” Deaton said in a statement Tuesday night.
Deaton won the vote of Springfield resident Dametrice Brown.
"As a veteran myself, I know the cost of sacrifice to the public. And so I believe they would continue to do the same," Brown said of Deaton.
Deaton defeated fellow Republicans Quincy City Council President Ian Cain and industrial engineer Bob Antonellis.
Stockbridge resident Jim Balfanz said he voted for Antonellis.
"Because I know he's a Trump supporter. And Donald Trump, they can say whatever they want, but his whole agenda is to make America great again. We're tired of this country being demonized by Democrats," Balfanz said.
Warren, who is seeking a third term, ran uncontested in the Democratic primary. In a statement, her campaign claimed Deaton was "handpick[ed]" by a "small handful of crypto billionaires and corporate special interests," and said voters have a "clear choice that could determine control of the Senate."
Warren on Tuesday night also publicly accepted invitations to two debates, including one to be cohosted by NEPM in Springfield.
Democratic voters in the southern Berkshires have picked Great Barrington Select Board member Leigh Davis as their nominee for state representative.
Davis finished well ahead of the two other candidates, Stockbridge Select Board members Patrick White and Jamie Minacci.
“I have to thank Jamie and Patrick. We all ran a really good race, and I salute them, for sure, because they made me a better person," Davis said Tuesday night, WAMC reported. "I'm going to continue to work hard. I'm going to continue to work with you and for you. I'm going to be your voice, hopefully.”
Davis won the vote of 32-year-old Lenox resident Kirstie Surber. Surber, a mother of two and a supervisor at a residential program for women with intellectual disabilities, had the chance to meet Davis and said she felt a connection with her.
"Just female empowerment. I don't feel like women really have that big of a voice as they should in the world. And we're pretty strong-minded and I feel like our ideas need to be heard. And she just seems great for empowerment," Surber said.
Stockbridge resident Bill Sheridan, a retired maintenance worker, voted for White.
"He thinks about the common man and what happens in their future," Sheridan said. "Because the future is the youth. And if we don't have them, we're going to die out."
Sheridan said he's concerned about housing and jobs for his children and grandchildren.
Davis will face unenrolled candidate Marybeth Mitts in November. This is an open seat, as the Democratic incumbent, Smitty Pignatelli, is not running for a twelfth term.
Springfield state Rep. Bud Williams fended off the challenge from middle school teacher Johnnie McKnight in the Democratic primary.
Williams won by 234 votes, picking up about 54%. After the results came in, Williams said he was surprised by the relatively close margin. But he said voters nonetheless sent a collective message at the ballot box.
"They have said I should go back for a couple more years. I'm very excited and elated. [It's] an honor and a privilege to serve the 11th Hampden District," Williams said.
At the polls, Williams supporter Ali Haqq said he understands some people may want fresh leadership. But he said Williams has done a lot of good for the community.
"If they feel that way, they feel that way," Haqq said. "But me, personally, I feel like if it's not broken, then don't fix it."
Unless a write-in challenger emerges for the November general election, Williams is all but assured of a fifth term in the House. There's no Republican on the ballot.
Before the new term, Williams said he wants to help push through an economic development bill, which the state House and Senate have been unable to agree on. If the bill doesn't pass before the end of the year, it would have to be filed again during the next term.
Massachusetts state Sen. Adam Gomez scored a decisive victory over challenger Malo Brown in the Democratic primary for the Hampden District, representing parts of Springfield and Chicopee.
Without a Republican challenger in November, Gomez is poised to cruise to a third term. He told supporters Tuesday night that his record was a big key to his victory.
"This campaign wasn't about divisive rhetoric. It wasn't about, 'I support them or they support us.' It was about, regardless, being able to move policy," Gomez said.
Andrea Garde, a retired house painter from Springfield, said she voted for Gomez, who she considers honest and accountable.
"Just because we have a Donald Trump — who doesn't understand anything about America — doesn't mean that I don't. And so, I vote for people who share the same principles as I do," she said.
Turnout was light. Just over 10% of registered voters cast ballots in Springfield. In Chicopee, it was about 12%.
Meanwhile, Brown — who serves on the Springfield City Council — said the experience of this race will help him going forward.
"I believe that my Senate candidacy allowed me to make even more connections, where I'll be even more impactful as a city councilor," Brown said in an interview.
Brown also serves as an aide to Williams, who survived his own primary challenge Tuesday.
This report contains information from the Associated Press, as well as reporting from NEPM's Karen Brown, Nancy Cohen and Adam Frenier.
