Cryptocurrency attorney John Deaton secured his spot in the contest against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, voters picked at least six new state lawmakers, and ballots were still being counted hours after polls closed in Tuesday's state primaries.
Only a handful of races up and down the ballot featured any kind of contest, and the results largely favored sitting incumbents, though one veteran House Democrat might be headed for a loss.
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At the top of the Republican ticket, voters picked Deaton, a U.S. Marine and cryptocurrency lawyer, to challenge Warren in November.
Deaton, who moved from Rhode Island to Massachusetts in January and approached the MassGOP about the prospect of running against Warren, defeated fellow Republicans Ian Cain and Robert Antonellis in a three-way primary. The Associated Press called the race for Deaton at 8:42 p.m.
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He's touted himself as a "small government, fiscally-conservative, socially-moderate Republican," roughly similar to the approach deployed by some other Massachusetts Republicans like former Gov. Charlie Baker. Deaton also wrote a memoir, "Food Stamp Warrior," about his experiences growing up impoverished in Detroit.
"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 Tuesday night. "Voters are turning their back on divisive partisan politics and are ready to support a message of optimism, unity, and solving problems."
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Warren did not face an opponent of her own as she seeks a third term. Six years ago, she swept past Republican challenger Geoff Diehl by 24 points, then ran an unsuccessful primary campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
In the 8th Congressional District of the U.S. House, incumbent Rep. Stephen Lynch ran uncontested in the Democratic primary. The AP called the GOP race for Rob Burke, who beat Jim Govatsos and Daniel Kelly for the chance to face Lynch in November. After Burke received the Republican nomination in 2022, Lynch beat him by 40 points.
Even if every state House and Senate incumbent running for reelection cruises to victory, voters will still effectively pick half a dozen new state lawmakers in open districts Tuesday with no Republicans on the ballot.
One of those is Newton's Greg Schwartz, who topped a three-way primary to succeed Rep. Ruth Balser, according to the AP.
Schwartz is a medical doctor -- according to his campaign, he'd become the only one in the Legislature -- and former Newton city councilor. Among his many policy positions, Schwartz said he would support banning private equity ownership of hospitals and medical groups, back a local-option real estate transfer tax, and "advocate for fully funding the MBTA so that we stop kicking the can down the road."
He defeated current City Councilors Rick Lipof and Bill Humphrey, and projects to be the only candidate on the ballot in November.
Another new de facto representative-elect is Sean Reid of Lynn, who beat Hong Net, also of Lynn. That north-of-Boston district is represented today by Rep. Peter Capano, who is not seeking reelection.
Reid is a member of the Lynn School Committee, and he works as a legislative director for Lynn Sen. Brendan Crighton. His campaign priorities included housing and public transit, climate and coastal resilience, and education.
Amy Mah Sangiolo bested Alexander Jablon in a Newton-versus-Newton Democratic primary to succeed Rep. Kay Khan, who is retiring 29 years after joining the House. Sangiolo will match up against Republican Vladislav Yanovsky in November in a district that has not crowned a GOP winner since some time before 1970.
Out in the southwesternmost corner of the state, Democrat Leigh Davis of Great Barrington declared victory in a crowded primary to succeed outgoing Rep. Smitty Pignatelli, according to Josh Landes of WAMC. She'll go on to face unenrolled candidate Marybeth Mitts of Lenox in the general election.
Continuing a long-running trend, most voters did not have any choices to make Tuesday. Only 26 of 160 House districts and six of 40 Senate districts saw a contested primary in either major political party, even though all 200 districts are up for reelection every two years, allowing most incumbents to sleepwalk into reelection.
Some Democrats who did not have primary opponents will face Republicans in November, though even taking that into account, a majority of districts still have no competition.
MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said Tuesday her party's candidates would "restore much-needed commonsense" to the Legislature.
"The Democrats are reeling as their policies have led to the largest immigration crisis in Massachusetts history. The Commonwealth is less affordable than ever, residents are leaving in droves, and our legislature remains one of the least transparent in the nation," Carnevale said in a statement.
Most sitting lawmakers who did face opponents appeared to fare well on Tuesday, but a high-profile upset could be brewing in Cambridge.
Just after 10:45 p.m., the Globe's Samantha Gross reported that graduate student and organizer Evan MacKay declared victory over six-term incumbent Rep. Marjorie Decker.
MacKay campaigned pointedly against the Legislature's status quo, in which power is centralized among a few Democrats, many decisions are made behind closed doors and the public -- and some lawmakers -- receive little notice about upcoming votes.
The race still had not been officially called as of 11 p.m.
Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven, a Somerville Democrat who is one of the Legislature's most progressive members, effectively locked up a third term by defeating fellow Somerville resident Kathleen Hornby. No Republicans nor unenrolled candidates are on the ballot.
Sen. Adam Gomez of Springfield, who in the days leading up to the primary touted an endorsement from Gov. Maura Healey, also won his primary against Springfield's Malo Brown.
His colleague, Sen. Mark Montigny of New Bedford, similarly fended off a challenge from Molly Kivi, AP results show.
Turnout figures to be a bit of a paradox, at least depending on the metrics used to rate it. Secretary of State William Galvin last week forecast more than 500,000 votes will be cast in Democratic primaries and another 250,000 in Republican primaries, which would be a turnout rate of close to 15 percent.
That's far lower than general elections, which in recent presidential years have surpassed 70 percent, and significantly below the 36.5 percent turnout in 2020's primaries. But it would also be much higher than the 8.8 percent in 2016 and the 12.4 percent in 2012, two other recent comparable years.
Many voters continue to take advantage of the ability to cast their ballots by mail, with more than 468,000 having done so by 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
