Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden defeated his two opponents in the Democratic primary, keeping his spot in the county’s top-prosecutor position.
The Associated Press called the race at around midnight, with about 56 percent of the ballots counted. Incumbent Hayden held the lead with nearly 51 percent of the vote.
“We won by a very considerable margin,” Hayden said at a news conference more than two hours before the results were called. “So, what the voters said is they want four more years of results — real results, strategies, and concepts that deliver real results.”
The race between Hayden’s challengers was significantly closer. Linda Champion, a former prosecutor who once served on Hayden’s leadership team, sat at 26 percent of the vote shortly before midnight, while Rachael Rollins trailed closely with nearly 23 percent.
Hayden’s campaign centered on his tenure as incumbent, pointing to enhanced victim services, broader diversion initiatives, and what he describes as “historically low crime rates” as reasons to reelect him. At the same time, he has encountered intense backlash from police unions after his office’s swift decision to charge a Boston police officer with manslaughter shortly after a fatal shooting.
Rollins, who served as district attorney from 2019 to 2022 before becoming U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, has also faced public scrutiny. She resigned as U.S. attorney in 2023 after investigators uncovered evidence that showed she misused her position to interfere with the 2022 district attorney race.
Champion, on the other hand, presented herself as a steady alternative, arguing that her opponents have already had their chance to serve as district attorney.
The Democratic primary narrows the field before the Nov. 3 general election, but the lack of a Republican contender means Hayden is virtually guaranteed to serve the four-year position.
The “real results” Hayden promises include “historically low crime rates” and “unwaveringly supporting victims, witnesses, survivors and communities that are impacted by crime.”
“We stand with them every day in every situation, in good times, in bad, when they’re in court and after,” Hayden said. “And we will always continue to do so.”
