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Democrat Chris Markey announced Tuesday night that he had secured enough votes to win the Bristol County district attorney’s race, beating Republican Seth Aitken.
Early, unofficial results gathered by Markey’s campaign showed the candidate in the lead with 74,603 votes, compared to Aitken’s 64,944 votes, with 86% of precincts reporting.
Markey took the podium in a ballroom at White’s of Westport at 11 p.m., addressing a crowd of dozens that was beginning to thin as they waited for late results to roll in.
“The numbers from tonight look amazing,” Markey said. “We are certain we will be victorious.”
He implied a few times during the speech that Aitken had not yet called him to concede the race. Aitken declined to comment when reached by The Light shortly after Markey’s speech.
On the campaign trail, Markey had emphasized his experience prosecuting high-profile crimes. He said he would bolster training for young prosecutors, hire a forensic psychologist, and introduce new technology to speed up the collection of digital evidence.
“I am going to be the district attorney you would want if your child was ever a victim of a crime,” Markey said on Tuesday night. “But I am also going to be the fair, thoughtful-minded district attorney you would want if your child was ever accused of a crime.”
Markey’s expected victory in Tuesday’s race would extend Democrats’ decades-long hold on the uncompetitive office — Aitken, the former Fall River city administrator, was the first Republican to run for the seat since 1974 and would have been the first Republican in history to hold it. Aitken had campaigned on plans to hire more staff to handle the caseload in district courts and investigate financial crimes.
It was an open race this year because the current DA, Thomas Quinn III, chose not to seek a fourth term. Markey has been the state representative for the 9th Bristol district since 2011, but he gave up the chance for another term in that office when he decided to run for DA. That means he will give up his Statehouse seat at the end of this year.
Candidates campaign on picture-perfect Election Day
Earlier in the day, as Aitken made his way around the county, he stopped to campaign outside Alfred Letourneau Elementary School in Fall River. He said he felt a little uncomfortable standing there, holding signs with his name in big letters and trying to get voters’ support in his bid for office.
“This is weird, because you’re asking people to go out of their way,” he said.
Aitken, who also practices as a criminal defense attorney, said he would take a break from campaigning later that morning to represent a client in court.
Markey cast his ballot at Dartmouth’s Southworth Library on Tuesday afternoon, along with a crowd of acquaintances. He shook hands with and hugged many of the voters he bumped into on his way in and out.
“That stuff means something,” he said. “You feel like you’re doing something right.”
Voters interviewed by a Light reporter on Tuesday had more to say about the ballot questions than individual candidates. When asked about the DA’s race, some couldn’t recall the candidates’ names and said they had simply voted for “the Democrat” or “the Republican.”
Email Grace Ferguson at gferguson@newbedfordlight.org.
