https://digboston.com/trump-guy-wins-the-democratic-primary-to-fill-deleos-seat/?fbclid=IwAR3zQBmkLyzuWYNdWyhVqF6jq_Dm3cyOAStGxFJZX3noZe2GUkZbITGUBfQ TRUMP GUY WINS THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY TO FILL DELEO’S SEAT
WRITTEN BY PATRICK COCHRAN
POSTED MARCH 3, 2021
FILED UNDER: NEWS, NEWS TO US, NEWS+OPINIONS
It’s the second time in less than a year that progressives have been dealt a bitter defeat in a crowded primary race.
In a blow to the left, a pro-life candidate who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 emerged victorious from a crowded Democratic primary election to fill the 19th Suffolk Massachusetts state House seat.
Jeff Turco, a self-described “Reagan Democrat” with a history of offensive and controversial comments, topped the four-candidate field with about 36% of the vote, according to unofficial results. He led the field in fundraising leading up to the primary.
“Jeffrey Turco is a Trump supporter who spreads radical anti-abortion rhetoric,” NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts said in a statement fundraising against Turco.
The seat, which covers Winthrop and part of Revere, was vacated when former state House speaker Robert DeLeo stepped down in December after a career that spanned three decades.
“We’re not Somerville and we’re not Cambridge and it’s OK in today’s Democratic Party to have moderates,” Turco told the Boston Herald.
Turco will face Winthrop Republican Paul Caruccio as well as independent candidate Richard Fucillo Jr. in the March 30 special election. It is unlikely that the Democrats will lose the seat. In 2014, a relatively strong election for Massachusetts Republicans, DeLeo was re-elected with more than 70% of the vote. That was the last time Republicans took a stab at the district. In 2020, Donald Trump lost Revere and Winthrop by more than 25 points. Regardless, the result will have little to no impact on the makeup of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, as the Democrats currently hold a 127-31 supermajority in the lower chamber.
Labor organizer Juan Jaramillo finished in second with 30% of the vote, followed by Alicia DelVento (26%) and Valentino Capobianco (8%).
Wonder if people in MA are starting to regret rejecting ranked-choice voting...
