Seven Candidates Vying for Senate Seat on Tuesday

Winthrop voters will head to the polls Tuesday for the State Senate Special Election Primary in the First Suffolk and Middlesex District.

The seat became vacant in January when former senator Anthony Petruccelli stepped down to take a position in the private sector. Seven Democratic candidates entered the race, including attorney Joseph Boncore, chairman of the Winthrop Housing Authority. Bncore is the son of Councillor-at-Large Phil Boncore.

The other candidates are former Revere mayor Dan Rizzo, Revere councillor-at-large Steven Morabito, Lydia Edwards, Diana Hwang, and Paul Rogers of East Boston, and State Rep. Jay Livingstone of Beacon Hill.

Town Clerk Carla Vitale said the town’s 4,540 Democratic voters and 6,379 Unenrolled voters are eligible to cast their ballots in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

Vitale reported that 175 residents had submitted absentee ballots as of Wednesday.

“It’s an exciting election and this office has been working as hard as the candidates themselves,” said Vitale.

Because there are no Republican candidates on the ballot, the winner of the Democratic primary will become the next state senator of the district.

Vitale said the polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations: Precincts 1, 2, and 5 – Winthrop High School gymnasium on Pauline Street; Precinct 3 and 6 – Senior Center on Harvard Street; and Precinct 4 – O’Connell Hall on Golden Drive.