Home About Archives RSS Feed

Neal Wins Primary Battle for 1st Mass Seat

Staff ReportsiBerkshires

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal will move from the 2nd Mass District to the 1st in the next Congress after winning Thursday's primary.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Richard Neal cruised to victory in Thursday's Democratic primary in a tepid turnout in Berkshire County.

By 9:30 p.m., Neal was outpolling his opponents 3-1 with fewer than 100 precincts left to report in the race for the 1st Massachusetts District. With no opponent in sight for the November election, Neal is the representative for the newly redrawn congressional district.

The writing was on the wall early on as the veteran 2nd District congressman began pulling away from the Berkshires' two candidates — Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr. and Bill Shein — when the results began coming shortly after the polls closed at 8 p.m.

Both Nuciforo and Shein campaigned heavily in Neal's Springfield base, hoping to pull some votes there way but they failed to make significant inroads against the 10-term congressman.

Neal, who was endorsed by retiring U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, did as well as expected in Springfield, taking 9,883  to Nuciforo's 1,553  and Shein's 394. But he also did well in the Berkshires, easily outpolling both men on their home turf.

Only in Great Barrington South County was there a significant reversal. Shein, who was consistently trailing in third in many places, took Great Barrington by 613, outpolling Neal at 203 and Nuciforo at 124. He also won Monterey, Mount Washington, Stockbridge and his hometown of Alford (71 to Neal's 13 and Nuciforo's 11).

Nuciforo, who'd been planning his run since 2008, surpassed Neal in Dalton (483-379) and Hinsdale (150-111) and tied him in Lee at 297. He also won in Otis and New Ashford.

By 7:30, a half-hour before the polls closed in Clarksburg, only 129 of town's more than 1,100 voters had cast ballots. One of the election workers described the day as "steady slow."

Clarksburg voters cast 116 ballots in the Democratic primary, giving Neal 53 votes, Nuciforo 46 and Shein 11. Thirteen Republican primary ballots were cast, giving Michael F. Case nine votes and Michael Franco three votes in the Governer's Council race. Results for the Governer's Council on the Democratic side were Michael Albano 46, Gerry Roy 8 and Kevin Sullivan 42.

In Williamstown, the turnout was better at 22 percent but Town Clerk Mary Kennedy had forecast around 1,200 ballots being cast. The final number was 844.

"I thought we would at least break 1,000," she said.

Neal took Williamstown with 318 votes, 100 more than Nuciforo, a former state senator from Pittsfield. Shein, of Alford, polled 243.

Williamstown, not surprisingly, went blue with 791 votes in the Democratic primary and 49 in the Republican. One ballot was also cast in the Green-Rainbow primary, which had no races.

North Adams also went Neal with 366 votes, Nuciforo with 282 and Shein with 181. Only about 10 percent of registered voters turned out, with 872 out of 8,724 casting ballots.

Election Warden Ronald O'Brien said the low turnout at North Adams was expected but not by this much.

"There really isn't a big race for North Adams," O'Brien said.

Both he and City Clerk Marilyn Gomeau spoke highly of the city's election workers.

"I think voters should be very appreciative of the election workers of the city," Gomeau said. "They should be commended."

In the 8th District Governer's Council race, Michael Albano was holding a slim lead over Kevin Sullivan in the Democratic primary, with Gerry Roy a distant third. On the Republican side, Michael Franco was leading Michael Case by several hundreds votes with 15 precincts yet to report.


For full results, see Boston.com.

Updated Friday, Sept. 7, to note Shein's better showing in South County and that Michael Albano and Michael Franco will face off for the Governor's Council seat in November. Final unofficial numbers were Neal at 40,165 votes (65 percent); Nuciforo at 15,123 (25 percent) and Shein at 6,048 (10 percent) per Boston.com.


     

Support Local News

We show up at hurricanes, budget meetings, high school games, accidents, fires and community events. We show up at celebrations and tragedies and everything in between. We show up so our readers can learn about pivotal events that affect their communities and their lives.

How important is local news to you? You can support independent, unbiased journalism and help iBerkshires grow for as a little as the cost of a cup of coffee a week.

News Headlines
North Adams Regional Reopens With Ribbon-Cutting Celebration
Clarksburg Sees Race for Select Board Seat
Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council
WCMA: 'Cracking the Code on Numerology'
BCC Wins Grant for New Automatic External Defibrillator
Clark Art Screens 'Adaptation'
Drury High School to Host End-of-Year Showcase
Clarksburg Gets 3 Years of Free Cash Certified
Pittsfield CPA Committee Funds Half of FY24 Requests
MCLA Men's Lacrosse Falls in League Opener

Where to vote in Berkshire County

State Election
Tuesday, Nov. 4

Voting is from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Deadline to register or change party affiliation was Oct.15.


Candidates on the ballot in races for state office; all others on the ballot are unopposed. Links will take you to their campaign websites.

U.S. Senator
Edward J. Markey, Democrat
Brian J. Herr, Republican

Governor/Lieutenant Governor
Charlie Baker & Karyn Polito, Republican
Martha Coakley & Stephen Kerrigan, Democrat
Evan Falchuk & Angus Jennings, United Independent Party
Scott Lively & Shelly Saunders, Independent
Jeff McCormick & Tracy Post, Independent 

Attorney General
Maura Healey, Democratic
John B. Miller, Republican

Secretary of State
William Francis Galvin, Democratic
David D'Arcangelo, Republican
Daniel L. Factor, Green-Rainbow

Treasurer
Deborah B. Goldberg, Democratic
Michael James Heffernan, Republican
Ian T. Jackson, Green-Rainbow

Auditor
Suzanne M. Bump, Democratic
Patricia S. Saint Aubin, Republican
MK Merelice, Green-Rainbow

Municipal Elections

The cities of Pittsfield and North Adams will hold municipal elections for mayor, city council and school committee in 2015

You may vote absentee: if you will be absent from your town or city on election day, have a physical disability that prevents you from voting at the polls or cannot vote at the polls because to religious beliefs.

2010 Special Senate Election Results

Election 2009 Stories

Election Day 2008

 

 

 



Categories:
1st Berkshire (42)
2010 (0)
2011 (78)
2012 (59)
2013 (63)
2014 (76)
2nd Berkshire (29)
3rd Berkshire (19)
4th Berkshire (14)
attorney general (6)
auditor (5)
campaign (72)
candidate forums (49)
city council (40)
Congress (25)
election (74)
endorsements (47)
events (30)
fundraising (10)
governor (26)
letters (9)
local (18)
mayor (54)
news (8)
school committee (21)
selectmen (22)
selectmen (16)
sheriff (28)
state (24)
statements (45)
Archives:
Tags:
Election 2014 Election 2013 U.s. Senate Williamstown Debate Town Election Governor Democratic Party Town Elections North Adams Primary Berkshire Brigades Debates Independent Mark Boucher Campaign Bissaillon Mayor 1st Mass Bosley Democrat Preliminary Letters To The Editor Bowler Republican Party Lieutenant Governor Szczepaniak Selectmen Pittsfield Cariddi Candidates Macdonald City Council Special Election
Popular Entries:
Five After Pittsfield's Corner Office
Marchetti Campaign Sets Pasta Dinner Fundraiser
Bouvier, Malumphy Return Papers For State House Bids
Mark Miller Wins UAW Endorsement
Bullett Announces Candidacy for North Adams Council
3rd District Democrats Support Verizon Strikers
Miller Submits Papers for State House Seat
Beaver Mill Group Hosts Candidates Talk
Malumphy Sets Campaign Agenda
1st District Candidates Discuss Jobs, Experience
Recent Entries:
Independent Falchuk Hits Threshold To Start New Party
Baker Wins Governor's Race
AG Candidate Healey Hears Concerns on Hospital
Candidate Kerrigan Stops in Pittsfield For Get Out The Vote Push
Suzanne Bump Seeking Re-election as Auditor
U.S. Senate Candidate Brian Herr Fighting for Name Recognition
Area Democrats Making Final Push For November Election
Coakley Stresses Commitment to Berkshires
Candidates Showing Differences As Governor's Race Heats Up
Gubernatorial Candidates Spar In Springfield Debate