Cullinane tops Lacet to win nomination in 12th Suffolk House district

State Rep. Dan Cullinane secured his 12th Suffolk District seat on Sept. 8, beating out second place finisher Jovan Lacet by more than 800 votes after a low-turnout primary.

Cullinane, seeking his second full elected term after filling the post in 2013, faced Mattapan lawyer Lacet and neighborhood advocate Carlotta Williams. No Republican is running for the seat, ending the contest here.

Within the city of Boston, Cullinane received 1,660 votes, Lacet received 1,211 votes, and Williams received 344. Campaign sources report the two Milton precincts brought in another 614 votes for Cullinane, 255 for Lacet, and 112 for Willams. The final tally gave Cullinane 2,274 votes, or 54 percent; Lacet 1,466, or 35 percent; and 456 for Williams, or 11 percent.

"I'm deeply grateful to everyone throughout the 12th Suffolk District who stood with me in this race," Cullinane said after polls closed, "from friends and family to elected officials, to organized labor and everyday voters who believe in what we've been working for: a better future for everyone within the 12th Suffolk District."

He said the hundreds of volunteers who knocked on over 4,000 doors and made thousands of phone calls "made the difference in this race."

"The price of winning is getting right back to work," he added, "and we start that first thing tomorrow.”

Lacet posted a statement to his Facebook page Friday morning, which read: “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dan Cullinane on his win as the 12th Suffolk State Representative.

Thank you to the 12th Suffolk District Voters who voted in the September 8 Election. Thank you to the awesome Campaign Team, my family, friends, and community for supporting my September 8, 2016 Election. I ask that you do not lose the energy and the hope for change to improve the Boston and Milton we love so much. Again, thank you.”

Running against a nearly unseen candidate, Melinda Stewart, in the primary, Rep. Evandro Carvalho of the 5th Suffolk District will face Republican perennial candidate Althea Garrison in November. Carvalho swept the district with about 76 percent of the vote (1,250 total) over Stewart’s 23 percent (379 total).

The unusual Thursday primary in Massachusetts took place later in the week than the traditional Tuesday, to accommodate overseas balloting requirements. Voter turnout across the state was expected to be low, projected around 10 percent. In Boston, the day began with 1.3 percent voter turnout, ending with 9.02 percent.

Former city councillor Stephen Murphy came out on top of a crowded race for Suffolk Register of Deeds, which pulled in seven interested Democrats eyeing the $124,000-a-year post.

The obscure office drew an unorthodox amount of attention this year, with the largely-administrative register position pitting Murphy against runner-up Roslindale paralegal Katherine Forde, Savin Hill land management expert Paul Nutting, Lower Mills resident and attorney Stephanie Everett, South End attorney Jeffrey Michael Ross, and familiar electoral faces Michael Mackan and Douglas Bennett.

Murphy in November will face three little-known independent candidates, who will need to contend with the former councillor’s broad name recognition and strong showing in the crowded Democratic field.

Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins successfully defended his seat against newcomer Alexander Rhalimi, with 78.59 percent of the vote and by a hefty margin of almost 17,000 ballots cast.

Other local electeds -- Linda Dorcena Forry in the First Suffolk District and state representatives Russell Holmes in the 6th Suffolk and Dan Hunt in the 13th Suffolk -- ran unopposed.