A Massachusetts Republican who has drawn financial support from the cryptocurrency industry will face Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren in November after winning the Bay State’s GOP primary Tuesday.
John Deaton, a Marine Corps veteran and attorney who moved to Massachusetts earlier this year, edged out two fellow Republicans: Quincy City Council President Ian Cain and engineer Robert Antonellis. Deaton had 60 percent of the vote at 8:42 p.m., when The Associated Press called the race.
Deaton focused his campaign on his biography. He was born into poverty outside of Detroit and became the first member of his family to graduate high school. He teaches at Roger Williams University School of Law and led a pro bono effort to stop the sale of children’s cosmetics that contain asbestos.
Deaton raised the most of any GOP candidate in the race — $1.8 million, which includes a $1 million personal loan. He also benefited from more than $1.2 million in outside spending by the Commonwealth Unity Fund, a super PAC largely bankrolled by Winklevoss Capital and Ripple Labs, which provides the infrastructure for digital asset firms. The PAC also spent $31,000 targeting Warren.
Cryptocurrency backers have been highly critical of Warren and her push to regulate the industry.
Warren, in her first campaign since running for president in 2020, had $5.3 million on hand as of Aug. 14. She won her last election in 2018 by 24 percentage points and Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race as Solid Democratic.
The Republican Senate primary was one of the few races with multiple candidates Tuesday. This post will be updated with additional results.
8th District
Voters selected Republican Robert Burke to take on Democratic Rep. Stephen F. Lynch in the 8th District, which includes part of Boston, as well as suburban towns to the south and west.
Burke, who made an unsuccessful run in 2022, had 47.5 percent of the vote at 10:52 p.m. Tuesday, when The AP called the race.
The district is rated Solid Democratic and Lynch won reelection in 2022 by 40 percentage points.
9th District
In the 9th District, Republican Daniel E. Sullivan III, a registered nurse, was unopposed in his primary to challenge Democratic Rep. William Keating.
Warren, Lynch and Keating are the only members of the state’s all-Democratic delegation to face GOP challengers in November. The Democrats in the other seven House districts are all running unopposed in November.
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