Upcoming primaries feature key contested races

By Jay Turner

Democratic voters will make their preferences known in four key races while area Republicans will help decide their party’s nomination for governor as voters make their way to the polls on Tuesday for the 2026 State Primary elections.

In addition to casting their ballot at their regular precinct location on Election Day, Canton residents also still have the option of voting early at Town Hall, with the last two chances to do so being today, August 27, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and tomorrow, August 28, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Those who submitted a vote-by-mail application by the August 25 deadline have until the close of polls (8 p.m.) on Election Day to return their completed ballots to Town Hall, either by mail, by hand-delivering it to the Town Clerk’s Office, or by placing it in the drop box outside Town Hall.

For the primary election, voters who are enrolled in a particular party may only vote in that party’s primary; however, unenrolled voters may choose to vote in either one (but not both).

Those who opt for the Democratic ballot will have multiple candidates to choose from in races for U.S. senator, U.S. representative in Congress (8th MA District), state representative (6th Norfolk District), and district attorney for Norfolk County.

In three of those four races, the eventual winner will face an opponent in the November 3 general election; however, that is not the case in the race for state rep, meaning that whoever emerges from the field with the nomination on Tuesday will have effectively secured that seat.

Adding to the intrigue is the fact that all three candidates are first-time challengers, after the district’s longtime incumbent, Bill Galvin of Canton, decided not to seek another term. Two of the three who are vying to succeed him, Lisa Lopez and Michael Loughran, are Canton residents, while the third candidate, Steve Cavey, is a resident of neighboring Stoughton. (The 6th Norfolk District encompasses the entire towns of Avon and Canton as well as precincts 1, 2A, 4A, 5, 7, and 8 in Stoughton.)

While none of the three have previously held a state office, they all have extensive municipal leadership experience and have all served one or more terms on their town’s Select Board.

Lopez and Loughran, in fact, ran against one another for a two-year vacancy in 2019, and the race was historically close, with Loughran ultimately prevailing after a recount by a margin of just three votes.

He has since been reelected twice, serving as chair in both 2021-22 and 2024-25, and before that he served for two terms on the Canton School Committee in addition to a lengthy stint on the Finance Committee.

Lopez, meanwhile, went on to run again for Select Board in 2020, securing a three-year term with a narrow victory over incumbent Tom Theodore. She was subsequently elected to the Canton Housing Authority and currently serves as that agency’s chair while remaining active on several town committees. Previously, Lopez served as chair of the Revere Heritage Open Space Committee, overseeing the development of the public green space on the site, and she championed adoption of the town’s Affordable Housing Trust, which she currently chairs.

In Stoughton, Cavey joined the Select Board during a contentious period in 2017 that culminated in the recall of three board members. He has since been reelected three times and has been named board chair on multiple occasions.

In addition to deciding the race for state rep, local Democratic voters also have a long list of choices for Norfolk DA, which has emerged as one of the most closely watched races in the entire commonwealth amid the fallout from the Karen Read murder trials and the Sandra Birchmore death investigation. With incumbent Michael Morrissey opting not to seek reelection, a whopping seven candidates are now vying to be his replacement, including his chief trial counsel, veteran county prosecutor Greg Connor. The field also includes a former federal prosecutor in Adam Deitch, three former Suffolk County ADAs (Macy Lee, Craig McLellan and Djuna Perkins), a district court clerk-magistrate (Bob Jubinville), and a public defense attorney (Jim Barakat). Snapshots on all seven candidates were published in last week’s Citizen, and the Canton MA Voter Guide has posted links to each of their campaign websites.

Whoever emerges from this crowded field will then move on to face attorney Joe Pagliarulo, who is running as an independent and therefore does not have to participate in the primary.

The two other contested races on the Democratic ballot are both head-to-head congressional battles featuring a veteran incumbent. In the Senate race, Ed Markey is vying for a third full term against U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, with the winner then moving on to face Republican John Deaton, an attorney and Marine Corps veteran.

Also up for reelection is Congressman Stephen Lynch, who will look to fend off a challenge from Patrick Roath, a 39-year-old attorney and former Deval Patrick aide with roots on the south shore. The winner between those two would then square off against Republican Robert Burke, a grassroots candidate who has run for this same seat twice before.

On the GOP side, all eyes will be on the two gubernatorial candidates — Michael Minogue and Brian Shortsleeve — who are both competing for the opportunity to take on incumbent Governor Maura Healey in November.

Shortsleeve, a Harvard graduate, Marine veteran, and former MBTA executive, has been actively campaigning but likely faces an uphill battle against Minogue, a West Point grad and business executive who enters the race with the backing of the state Republican Party. Nearly all of the members of the Canton Republican Town Committee who attended the state convention also voted for Minogue, and he currently leads Shortsleeve in the polls by a 2-1 margin.

The Canton Democratic Town Committee, meanwhile, voted recently to endorse its own slate of candidates as they considered their public voting records, platforms, and “demonstrated commitment to Democratic values.” Based on those criteria, they came out in favor of Markey for senator, Roath for U.S. representative, Perkins for Norfolk DA, and Lopez for state rep.

Lopez, as detailed on her website, has also picked up endorsements from the likes of the Mass. Nurses Association, Progressive Massachusetts, and the Mass. Women’s Political Caucus, while Loughran has secured the endorsement of Rep. Galvin, current holder of the office in question. For more on all three candidates, check out their campaign websites at cantonmavoterguide.com.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=134417