Politics & Government
It Was No Diehl For Prinzivalli In State Rep Race
She closely aligned herself with the Republican Senate candidate who won in Tewksbury and WIlmington, but those votes didn't cross over.
TEWSKBURY, MA -- Geoff Diehl was one of the first, high-profile Massachusetts Republicans to back Pina Prinzivalli, a first-time candidate for office who lost to Democrat Dave Robertson Tuesday in a race to represent most of Wilmington and Tewksbury in the state House of Representatives. Diehl, who lost his bid to unseat Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Tuesday, spoke at her formal campaign launch party in March and frequently tweeted out praise for Prinzivalli.
Prinzivalli, for her part, campaigned for Diehl in Tewksbury and Wilmington as well as other parts of the state. It was no secret that a key part of her strategy was to align her campaign with Diehl's. And on paper, that seemed like a sound game plan: despite losing statewide, Diehl defeated Warren in every precinct in Tewksbury and Wilmington.
But in practice, the strategy came up short, as voters in the district clearly split the ticket when they cast their votes Tuesday. Prinzivalli won just one precinct and lost the overall election by 894 votes.
Find out what's happening in Tewksburyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Robertson was also making his first run for elected office. He waste legislative aide to Jame Miceli, the Wilmington Democrat who held the seat for more than four decades, in large part by being a conservative Democrat. Robertson won a five-way primary in September, beating three opponents who had more political experience and, arguably, more name recognition. Prinzivalli also raised more money than Robertson and, during a debate last month, effectively showed that Robertson was more liberal on some issues than Miceli.
But in the end, it appears as if voters in the 19th Middlesex preferred a Democrat -- even if his comments suggested he was more liberal than his predecessor -- than a Republican. What follows are the unofficial results from both towns in both races.
Find out what's happening in Tewksburyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Tewksbury Senate Voting - Unofficial Results
| 1 | 1a | 2 | 2a | 3 | 3a | 4 | 4a | Total | |
| Diehl - R | 809 | 956 | 839 | 771 | 950 | 1024 | 945 | 883 | 7,177 |
| Warren - D | 682 | 734 | 710 | 615 | 859 | 911 | 751 | 791 | 6,053 |
| Ayyadurai - I | 72 | 73 | 79 | 74 | 114 | 79 | 85 | 97 | 673 |
Tewksbury 19th Middlesex - Unofficial Results
| 1 | 1a | 2 | 2a | 3 | 3a | 4 | 4a | Total | |
| Meuse - I | 147 | 190 | 184 | 218 | 196 | 169 | 1,104 | ||
| Prinzivalli - R | 694 | 829 | 682 | 599 | 775 | 715 | 4,294 | ||
| Robertson - D | 701 | 710 | 758 | 624 | 766 | 863 | 4,422 |
Note: Precincts 3 and 3a are not part of the 19th Middlesex District.
Wilmington Senate Voting - Unofficial Results
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Total | |
| Diehl - R | 903 | 908 | 908 | 1040 | 931 | 870 | 5,560 |
| Warren - D | 844 | 772 | 799 | 863 | 920 | 833 | 5,031 |
| Ayyadurai - I | 56 | 75 | 59 | 69 | 80 | 55 | 394 |
Wilmington 19th Middlesex - Unofficial Results
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Total | |
| Meuse - I | 91 | 97 | 83 | 110 | 85 | 470 | |
| Prinzivalli - R | 718 | 740 | 846 | 787 | 827 | 3,918 | |
| Robertson - D | 957 | 885 | 961 | 977 | 908 | 4,688 |
Note: Precincts 3 is not part of the 19th Middlesex District.
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Patch file photo of Pina Prinzivalli.
Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).
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