WESTFIELD – The unofficial tallies for the 2014 Democratic and Republican Primaries are in and Attorney General Martha Coakley and Westfield-born businessman Mark Fisher have won their respective primaries here in the city.
Springfield attorney Brett Vottero also won the Democratic ballot to emerge as Westfield’s pick for Hampden County District Attorney.
Of the 23,789 registered voters in the city of Westfield, 3,771 cast ballots in either primary, which is almost 16 percent of the city’s electorate.
In the city’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, Coakley defeated State Treasurer Steve Grossman by a wide margin, 1,019-856, with former Medicare/Medicaid Administrator Dr. Don Berwick claiming 432 votes.
Coakley bested Grossman, who earned the party’s nomination at their July convention and several notable media endorsements in metro Boston, in 10 of the city’s 12 precincts and defeated him in the statewide election as well.
In the Westfield GOP primary, native son Mark Fisher beat former Harvard Pilgrim Health Care CEO Charlie Baker 671-597, winning eight city precincts.
Baker, the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nomination in 2010 and 2014, ended up defeating Fisher by a comfortable margin statewide to win the GOP primary again and the right to face Coakley Nov. 4.
In the four-way race for Hampden County District Attorney, former Assistant District Attorney Brett Vottero beat his nearest opponent, current ADA Anthony Gulluni, by a count of 958-880 in Westfield, with attorney’s Shawn Allyn and Hal Etkin of Agawam and Longmeadow finishing with 376 and 136 votes in the city, respectively.
Gulluni would end up winning 47 percent of the overall vote as of 9:30 p.m., running away with an election that was thought to be far from a sure thing for any of the four candidates.
With no Republican or Independent candidates on the ballot, Gulluni was essentially elected as the new district attorney last night and at age 33, is the youngest to ever be elected to the office.
Incumbent state Sen. Don Humason, Jr. and state Rep. John Velis ran unopposed on the Republican and Democratic ballots, as did Velis’ Republican opponent, Dan Allie.
Velis will face Allie in a rematch of their April 1 special election to fill the 4th Hampden District seat in the House of Representatives, vacated by Humason last Fall.
Humason was elected to fill the 2nd Hampden-Hampshire District seat vacated by the resignation of Michael Knapik in the Summer of 2013 and is up for reelection Nov. 4.
In the Whip City’s Democratic primary for the 2nd Hampden-Hampshire District, Holyoke policeman and realtor Patrick Leahy bested Fire Commissioner Christopher Hopewell by a wide margin in Westfield 1367-537, defeating him soundly in all 12 of the city’s precincts.
Leahy, who recently earned the endorsement of Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe, ended up defeating Hopewell to win the Democratic primary to face Humason Nov. 4.
In Southwick, voters elected to send Republican Charles Baker to the gubernatorial election beating out Westfield native and challenger Mark Fisher. Democrat Martha Coakley received 196 votes in Southwick, while challenger Donald Berwick received 105 and Steve Grossman received 136.
Democrat Stephen Kerrigan earned Southwick’s vote for lieutenant governor. He will face Republican Karyn Polito in the election.
Voters also elected to send Democrat Samuel DiSanti to face Republican incumbent State Rep. Nicholas Boldyga Nov. 4.
Treasurer candidate Democrat Deborah Goldberg took the majority of Southwick votes, with her Republican counterpart Michael James Heffernan earning Southwick’s vote.
Southwick followed suit with most of western Massachusetts in sending Democrat Patrick Healy to face incumbent Sen. Donald Humason this November. They also narrowly joined their fellow voters in electing Democrat Vottero to the district attorney race. He beat out challenger Gullini by just one vote locally.
