Western Massachusetts incumbent candidates came out on top Tuesday night as all of them retained their seats in the primary election. For a full list of results visit our live results page here.
1st Hampden Congressional District
Longtime U.S. Rep. Richard Neal has held off challenger Jeromie Whalen in the Democratic primary. Neal won by less than 10% percent of the vote after Whalen, a teacher, ran a strong grassroots campaign. Neal will be the democratic candidate in November for the 19th time. Read a full story on this race here.
Governor's Council
Incumbent Tara Jacobs successfully fended off a primary challenge to her seat in 8th District of the Governor’s Council. Longtime Springfield City Councilor Michael Fenton ran against her, making it a rematch of a race he also lost in 2022. When the Associated Press called the race late Tuesday evening, Jacobs had secured more than 60% of the votes.
Jacobs said she's proud of the work she's done on the council — including recruiting judges and helping get them confirmed. She says one thing she learned during the campaign is the importance of explaining her work to the community at large, and not just the groups focused on social justice.
“I’m going to expand that outreach,” Jacobs said. “And show up more in places that aren’t necessarily a direct alignment with filling our seats in the court, but in engaging the community in the process, and understanding our justice system.”
Jacobs says part of that outreach is helping constituents understand what is, and what is not in the power of the Governor’s Council. She’ll run uncontested in the general election, and continue her tenure as one of three non-lawyers serving on the Council.
1st Berkshire District
Incumbent John Barrett beat challenger Andrew Fitch for the 1st Berkshire State Representative seat, but it came close with the AP reporting Barrett received 3,365 votes to Fitch's 3,506.
Barrett has been in politics since 1984, while Fitch is a relative political newcomer, having joined the North Adams City Council in 2023. Following the win, Barrett said the race was difficult, but he was happy with how the results turned out.
“We knew this would be a tough race, we went out and did the work that had to be done, and uh, my supporters have been so great over the years and have stayed with me, someone who has been in the game as long as I have,” he said.
Fitch took the loss in stride, saying he was proud of the work he did over the course of his campaign.
“You know, we ran a clean, respectful campaign. My incumbent did the same, for sure. I was proud of how we ran these campaigns. Together, we’re building a bright and successful and affordable future for this region,” he said.
The seat represents 13 cities and towns across Berkshire County.
1st Franklin District
The race for the 1st Franklin State Representative seat has yet to be called. Corinne Coryat, a law student at Western New England University and chief of staff to former 1st Franklin Rep. Natalie Blais, was challenged by lLora Wondolowski, the president of the Greenfield City Council who formerly worked with several nonprofit organizations.
As of 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the Greenfield Recorder had Wondolowski beating Coryat by just 41 votes with one town left to report.
5th Hampden District
Massachusetts state lawmaker Pat Duffy of Holyoke soared past her opponent in yesterday's 5th Hampden district democratic primary receiving more than 3,000 votes to her opponent Dori Dean's 844. Duffy will face independent candidate Jose Candelario Gonzalez in November.
She said in a statement that residents in the district generously shared concerns and hopes for their community. The conversations reinforced her commitment to advocate for them on Beacon Hill.
Dean, a political consultant encouraged campaign workers to stay involved and to hold elected officials accountable.
11th Hampden District
Incumbent Bud Williams clawed his way into victory against challengers Johnnie McKnight and Nicole Coakley. Williams won by 1,606 votes beating McKnight by 381 votes and Coakley by 722 votes.
Williams said it was close between the candidates, but he maintains that he ran a positive campaign that the voters appreciated.
"I think people have clearly rejected that notion that you can try to tear somebody down to build yourself up, so the voters have spoken. They've appreciated what I've done during my tenure,” Williams said.
Coackley and McKnight both held watch parties to thank supporters. McKnight held his at Christopher’s Tavern in Springfield. He said he didn’t feel hopeful, despite his close win.
“The establishment won. We still have no progressive values. No great hope in the 11th Hampden District,” McKnight said about the results.
McKnight said he still wants better representation for his district, but wants to focus on the time he missed with his family instead of thinking about running for office in the future.
Williams said he's looking forward to going back to Beacon Hill to get more done for Springfield.
McKnight ran against Williams two years ago and lost by 250 votes. Coakley, an administrator for Springfield’s C3 community-policing program, previously ran for Springfield City Council last year and lost.
12th Hampden District
Longtime lawmaker Angelo Puppulo hung onto his seat in the 12th Hampden District. Competing against progressive challenger Michael Lachenmeyer, Puppulo leaned on his nearly two decades of experience on Beacon Hill as a reason for voters to keep him in office.
Celebrating his win at Nathan Bill's Bar in Springfield – Puppolo said he thinks voters recognized how hard he's worked to serve his district.
“You’ve got to point out the things you've been able to bring home, the positive results you've been able to get for the district," Puppulo said. “As well as focus on what we're gonna do in the future. I think we were able to do that.”
Puppolo said he’s now laser-focused on the current legislative session, and pushing through major pieces of policy currently moving through committees.
“There's a number of significant bills,” Puppulo said. “We’ve got the energy bill. We've got the environmental bond bill. We've got the economic development bill. We've got a health care bill. There's a lot of bills that we have that are still in committee. So we're not done with this session by a far cry.”
When the race was called by the Associated Press late Tuesday evening, Puppulo had secured more than two-thirds of the vote. He’ll run uncontested in the general election, and enter his 10th term in the state legislature.
