Some SouthCoast Races Still Yet to Be Called

While the presidential election may have been decided sooner than many experts predicted, there are a number of local races here on the SouthCoast that still have yet to be determined.

The Massachusetts Delegation Remains the Same

With 90 percent of the vote counted, Democrat incumbent Elizabeth Warren held off a challenger from newcomer Republican John Deaton, winning 1,872,649 (60.14 percent) to 1,241,137 (39.86 percent) to win a third term in the U.S. Senate.

Democrat Bill Keating will return to the U.S. House of Representatives for a sixth term in the 9th District, as 91 percent of the votes tallied show him defeating Republican challenger “Nurse Dan” Sullivan. Keating pulled in 232,346 votes for 56.5 percent, while Sullivan tallied 179,143 votes for 43.5 percent.

Democrat Jake Auchincloss will serve a third term in District 4 after he went unopposed.

Massachusetts Senate Results

The 3rd Bristol and Plymouth seat in the Massachusetts Senate currently held by Marc Pacheco, who decided not to seek re-election, is still up for grabs. With 83 percent of the vote in, Republican Kelly Dooner holds a slight 48.67 percent to 46.24 percent edge over Democrat (and no relation to the sitting senator) Joseph Pacheco. Dooner is currently ahead by just 1,794 votes as of this writing.

Incumbent Democrats Michael Rodrigues in the 1st Bristol and Plymouth District and Mark Montigny in the 2nd Bristol and Plymouth District both ran unopposed in the general election and will return to the Massachusetts Senate.

Massachusetts House of Representatives Results

In the 5th Bristol District, the second time was a charm for Republican challenger Justin Thurber, who defeated incumbent Democrat Pat Haddad 52 percent to 48 percent. Thurber had 12,329 votes to Haddad’s 11,371.

In the 10th Bristol, which was an open seat due to Democrat Bill Straus not seeking re-election, will go to Democrat Mark Sylvia. With 83 percent of the vote in, Sylvia has 54.89 percent (12,009 votes) to Republican Joe Pires’ 45.11 percent (9,869 votes).

The 8th Bristol District was a hotly-contested race due to incumbent Democrat Paul Schmid not seeking re-election. With 80 percent of the vote in, Democrat Steven Oullette is currently leading Republican Christopher Thrasher by just 35 votes. Oullette has 5,922 votes (32.54 percent) to Thrasher’s 5,887 votes (32.35 percent). Jesse St. Gelais, the highest vote-getter among the three independent candidates in the race, currently has 4,033 votes for 22.16 percent.

Locally, Democrats Carol Doherty (3rd Bristol), Carole Fiola (6th Bristol), Alan Silvia (7th Bristol), Christopher Markey (9th Bristol), Chris Hendricks (11th Bristol) and Antonio Cabral (13th Bristol) all ran unopposed.

Other SouthCoast Races

Joe Ferreira returns to the Governor’s Council, beating Krysten Condon 57.01 percent to 42.99 percent.

With 74 percent of the vote in for Bristol County Commissioner, it looks like Ferreira’s daughter Julie Ruggiero (32.9 percent) will join incumbent John Mitchell (44.47 percent) on the commission.

Massachusetts Ballot Questions

Question 1, which would give the state auditor the authority to audit the state legislature, passed overwhelmingly, 71.5 percent to 28.5 percent.

Question 2, asking if Massachusetts should eliminate the MCAS as a high school graduation requirement, also passed, 58.9 percent to 41.1 percent.

Question 3 still has yet to be called with 89 percent of the vote in. The question, which would give rideshare drivers the right to form unions, currently is led by the “yes” votes 54 percent to 46 percent.

Voters voted down Question 4, which would allow for the legalization of certain psychedelic substances, 56.9 percent to 43.1 percent.

Question 5, which would increase the minimum wage for tipped workers to $15 an hour, also failed with a 64 percent to 36 percent margin.

We will update this story with more results as they come in.