Leading the list of unopposed candidates will be U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield and U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, who both cruised to victory against opponents in the reconfigured First and Second Congressional Districts.
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Clint Eastwood said the idea to use an empty seat as a prop at the Republican National Convention was a spur-of-the-moment decision when someone backstage asked him if he wanted to sit down.SPRINGFIELD — Despite predictions for a huge turnout for the November presidential election, voters will find a relatively sparse sampling of races on the state and local ballots.
By winning primaries Thursday, candidates for Congress, the state Legislature and some municipal posts will get a free ride in November, thanks to the state’s tradition of one-party domination, public apathy and cynicism toward politics and other factors.
“Unfortunately, Massachusetts tends to be close to the bottom (nationwide) in contested races,” said Pamela H. Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause, Massachusetts, Inc., a non-profit government watchdog group.
“Lack of competition is absolutely not a good thing; competition is a hallmark of democracy,” she said.
Leading the list of unopposed candidates will be U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield and U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, who both cruised to victory against opponents in the reconfigured 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts.
McGovern fended off a challenge from William B. Feegbeh, a substitute teacher at Sullivan Middle School in Worcester. Neal kept his career undefeated steak alive by triumphing in a three-way primary over challengers Andrea Nuciforo Jr., a former state senator from Pittsfield, and political newcomer Bill Shein, a humorist and activist from Alford.
Likewise, few local members of the state Senate or House of Representatives will face opponents in the Nov. 6 election.
None of the region’s six state senators — five Democrats and one Republican — is opposed in the general election. And more than two dozen House members will also cruise to re-election with no challengers, including Republican incumbents in Palmer and Westfield.
All three incumbent House Democrats from Hampshire County have no opposition.
In contested races, Rep. Brian M. Ashe, a Longmeadow Democrat, could be facing a more difficult re-election bid after redistricting stripped his district of two precincts in the Forest Park section of Springfield that were important to his victory in the 2010 election.
The new 2nd Hampden District gained ground in East Longmeadow and now tilts more Republican, possibly an advantage for Ashe’s GOP challenger, Marie Angelides of Longmeadow.
In the 3rd Hampden District, first-term Republican Nicholas A. Boldyga, a Southwick Republican, also faces a challenge from Agawam Democrat Samuel S. DiSanti Jr., who could benefit from a tide of Democratic-leaning voters typical for a presidential election year in Massachusetts.
In Franklin County, lawyer Scott A. Cote of Greenfield will face no opposition in November after defeating incumbent Joseph A. Gochinski, of Greenfield. In another uncontested race, Franklin Superior Court clerk Susan K. Emond, of Bernardston, the current first assistant clerk of the court, will have no opponent. Emond defeated her primary opponent, David R. Roulston, of Greenfield.
By defeating three opponents for the Hampden Superior Court Clerk’s post Thursday, Laura S. Gentile is guaranteed the job in January; she has no opponents in the November election.
While voter participation in Springfield, Holyoke and Chicopee primaries hovered in the 15 to 16 percent area, a much larger turnout is being predicted for the November election, when former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will try to unseat President Barack Obama.
A second contest – U.S. Senator Scott Brown, R-Mass. vs. Democrat Elizabeth Warren – will help boost the turnout.
Chicopee City Clerk Keith Rattell is predicting a 67 percent turnout locally for Nov. 6, an increase of 51 percent from Thursday's contest.
“I’m hoping we’ll push it higher, to 70 percent,” said Rattell. “When you have a presidential election, it really brings everyone out,” he said.