The Latest: Pressley Ousts Dem Rep. Capuano In Massachusetts
BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on the primary election in Massachusetts (all times local):
9:55 p.m.
Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley has defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano in a closely watched Democratic primary battle in Massachusetts.
Pressley is all but certain to become the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts in November because there are no Republican candidates in the race. Her victory gives Democrats’ progressive wing another win in their effort to pull the party leftward.
Capuano conceded earlier, saying “America is going to be OK” and Pressley is going to be a good congresswoman.
Capuano is the second Democrat and fourth House incumbent to lose a primary ahead of the November midterms. Pressley has drawn comparisons to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She ousted 10-term New York Rep. Joe Crowley in a Democratic primary in June.
Capuano didn’t take Pressley’s challenge lightly, campaigning hard and pointing to a liberal 20-year record.
9:42 p.m.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts has fended off two Democratic primary challengers, including a Boston-based software engineer.
The win means Lynch, first elected in 2001, is virtually ensured another two-year term in the 8th Congressional District. There are no Republicans on the November ballot.
Brianna Wu is a co-founder of the video game company Giant Spacekat. She rose to prominence after being targeted by what became known as Gamergate, which subjected women in the video-game industry to misogynistic threats. She says Lynch didn’t do enough to oppose President Donald Trump.
Lynch says he proudly supported Trump’s Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
The 63-year-old Lynch is a former union ironworker and grew up in South Boston.
Former Air Force fighter pilot Christopher Voehl also ran in the primary.
9:40 p.m.
Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Richard Neal has defeated Democratic primary challenger Tahirah Amatul-Wadud.
During the campaign, Neal defended his long record, pointing to his leadership role as the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee.
Amatul-Wadud cited an “absence of moral leadership” in Washington as one reason she decided run in the state’s 1st Congressional District in western Massachusetts.
The Springfield attorney had hoped to become the first Muslim elected to Congress from Massachusetts. She backed a proposal to make Medicare available to all Americans regardless of age.
Neal emphasized his leadership role in Congress during the passage of the 2010 health care law and would protect it from Republican attacks.
Neal will run unopposed in November.
9:35 p.m.
U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano has conceded to Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley in Massachusetts’ Democratic primary.
Pressley is all but certain to become the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts in November. A win by her would give the Democrats’ progressive wing another win in their effort to pull the party leftward.
The Associated Press has not called the race yet, deeming it too early.
Capuano told supporters “America is going to be OK” and said Pressley is going to be a good congresswoman.
Capuano would be the second Democrat and fourth House incumbent to lose a primary ahead of the November midterms. Pressley has drawn comparisons to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She ousted 10-term New York Rep. Joe Crowley in a Democratic primary in June.
There are no Republican candidates.
9:20 p.m.
Jay Gonzalez has won the Democratic nomination for governor in Massachusetts.
Gonzalez served as secretary of Administration and Finance under former Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick. He defeated longtime political activist Robert Massie in Tuesday’s primary.
Both candidates stressed a progressive agenda that included universal health care coverage, stronger protection for immigrants and increased investment for transportation and education.
Gonzalez says incumbent Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has failed to achieve tangible progress in improving the performance of the Boston-area’s aging transit system or in narrowing the state’s educational achievement gap.
The 47-year-old Ohio native has lived in Massachusetts since 1998.
9:16 p.m.
Republican state Rep. Geoff Diehl has defeated two other GOP primary candidates in Massachusetts for the chance to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in November.
Diehl beat back the campaigns of business executive John Kingston and Beth Lindstrom, a Cabinet official under former Massachusetts Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, in Tuesday’s primary.
Of the three, Diehl had the closest ties to President Donald Trump. Diehl co-chaired Trump’s 2016 Massachusetts campaign. He was quick to note that despite its liberal reputation, Massachusetts gave Trump one of his most lopsided early primary wins.
All three candidates tried to turn Warren’s national profile against her, criticizing her for being too politically extreme and spending too much time preparing for a possible presidential run in 2020.
Warren was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
9:15 p.m.
Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy has defeated his Democratic primary challenger, Gary Rucinski.
Kennedy, a grandson of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, is in his third term. In January, he delivered the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.
Kennedy has also been campaigning for other Democrats in Massachusetts and beyond. In June, he participated in a march in Texas to protest the Trump administration policy of separating children from their parents.
Rucinski, a member of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, ran in large part to bring attention to the environment.
During the campaign, Rucinski said he was satisfied with Kennedy’s performance on health care and other issues, but faulted his leadership on tackling climate change.
There are no Republicans running in the 4th Congressional District.
9:10 p.m.
Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Bill Keating has defeated his Democratic primary challenger, William Cimbrelo.
Keating was first elected to Congress in 2010 from the state’s 9th Congressional District, which includes the state’s South Shore, Cape Cod and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.
He serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees and has positioned himself as a national security expert.
Cimbrelo ran on several issues, including the expansion of Medicare to cover everyone regardless of age and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency also known as ICE.
In 2011, Cimbrelo ran for the U.S. Senate as an independent candidate against then-Republican incumbent Scott Brown, a race won by Democrat Elizabeth Warren.
Keating will face off against Republican Peter Tedeschi in the November election.
9:05 p.m.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has won the Republican primary as he seeks a second four-year term in office.
Baker fended off a challenge Tuesday from Scott Lively, an ultraconservative minister from Springfield who called the incumbent a RINO — short for “Republican in name only.”
Baker largely ignored Lively, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, beyond sharply criticizing his opponent’s history of controversial anti-LGBT statements. Baker is a frequent critic of Trump’s policies.
Despite Massachusetts’ reputation as a solidly Democratic state, polling has shown Baker to be highly popular with voters throughout his first term. He credits in part his willingness to work cooperatively with Democratic leaders at the Statehouse.
Baker’s critics say he’s failed to make progress on solving key problems, such as the Boston-area’s aging and frequently unreliable public transit system, known as the T.
8 p.m.
Polls have closed in the Massachusetts primary election.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has sailed through unopposed, letting her focus on the general election in November.
The Democrat has been mentioned as a possible presidential contender in 2020. Warren repeatedly has said she’s focused on her re-election bid, but she did release a decade’s worth of tax returns last month — a move seen as positioning herself for a possible White House run. Warren regularly spars with President Donald Trump, who has refused to release his own returns.
Three Republicans were vying Tuesday for the chance to challenge Warren in November.
They include state Rep. Geoff Diehl; business executive John Kingston; and Beth Lindstrom, a Cabinet official under Republican Gov. Mitt Romney.
5:05 p.m.
Elections officials say voter turnout in Boston is running ahead of the last statewide primary four years ago.
As of midafternoon Tuesday, about 50,000 people had cast ballots, or a little more than 12 percent of the city’s registered voters. In 2014, about 33,000 people had voted in Boston as of that same time.
Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano in the Democratic primary in the congressional district that includes parts of the city along with Cambridge and Somerville.
In the governor’s race, incumbent Republican Charlie Baker is being challenged by minister Scott Lively while Democrats Jay Gonzalez and Robert Massie are competing for their party’s nomination.
Three Republicans are vying to face Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in November. Warren has no primary challenger.
10:30 a.m.
Voters in Massachusetts are deciding who advances to the November general election to run for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and a slew of other offices.
One of the closest watched contests in Tuesday’s primary pits longtime incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano against Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley. If elected, she’d be the first black woman Massachusetts has sent to Congress.
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, a moderate seeking a second term, faces conservative Springfield minister Scott Lively. Jay Gonzalez and Robert Massie are competing in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Three Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination to oppose Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in November. Warren is unopposed in the primary.
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