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Perkins Wins Democratic Primary for Norfolk County DA
Djuna Perkins has won the seven-way Democratic primary for Norfolk County district attorney, defeating Adam Deitch and five others to succeed Michael Morrissey, who did not seek re-election. She will face independent Joe Pagliarulo in the November general election, with no Republican on the ballot. The race drew attention due to controversies involving the Karen Read and Sandra Birchmore cases.
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Djuna Perkins, a former prosecutor with experience as an assistant attorney general and assistant district attorney, has won the seven-way Democratic primary to succeed longtime Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey. According to unofficial election results, Perkins received 28,067 votes, or 29% of the vote with 96% of precincts reporting, according to MassLive. The Boston Globe reported Perkins received 27,000 votes as of 8:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Her closest competitor was Adam W. Deitch, a former federal prosecutor, who conceded to Perkins around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Perkins campaign. Deitch trailed by less than 3,000 votes. Deitch led in several communities, including Quincy, where he received 3,540 votes, according to the Quincy Patriot Ledger. The vote split was evident in the Attleboro area, where Norfolk favored Perkins, while Foxborough, Plainville, and Wrentham backed Deitch, MassLive reported.
Perkins, who was among the first to declare her candidacy, will face independent candidate Joe Pagliarulo in the November general election. There is no Republican running for the office. Pagliarulo, a former state prosecutor from Millis, is self-funding his campaign with $3,000 he donated himself.
A Race Shaped by Controversy
The primary race was dominated by debate over how Morrissey handled two high-profile investigations: the prosecution of Karen Read in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, and the death of Sandra Birchmore, as reported by The Boston Globe. A jury last year acquitted Read of all charges connected to O'Keefe's death. In the Birchmore case, Morrissey's office did not file criminal charges, citing the state medical examiner's finding of suicide, but federal investigators have since charged former Stoughton police detective Matthew Farwell in her death.
Morrissey, who has served as Norfolk County DA for more than two decades and was elected in 2010, announced in January he would not seek another term. The unusual number of Democratic candidates — seven in total — reflected the contentious environment, with Morrissey facing criticism over these cases, according to MassLive.
Key Endorsements and Candidate Field
Perkins received early support from elected prosecutors she had worked under, including former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger and former Suffolk District Attorney Ralph C. Martin II, The Boston Globe reported. Late last month, she announced the endorsement of Progressive Massachusetts, an influential statewide group.
Other candidates in the primary included Greg Connor, a top prosecutor in the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office for 25 years, who received 13,814 votes (15%); Macy Lee, a former Suffolk County assistant district attorney and director of the Office of Medicaid Board of Hearings, who took 10,042 votes (10.9%); and Robert Jubinville, a decade-long member of the Governor's Council, with 7,674 votes (8.3%), according to MassLive. Jim Barakat, a public defender, and Craig MacLellan, a solo legal practitioner and criminal defense attorney, finished sixth and seventh.
Looking Ahead
Perkins expressed gratitude and readiness in her victory statement. "We did it!" she wrote. "I am so grateful for the countless volunteers, tens of thousands of voters who supported us, my dedicated campaign team and endorsers, and my family who supported me every step of the way in this 23-month long campaign." She added that she was ready "to get to work and make the transformative change necessary in Norfolk County," but first, the focus is on winning the November general election.
The general election on Nov. 3 will feature Perkins and Pagliarulo. In a separate race, Bristol County voters will decide between Democrat Christopher Markey and Republican Seth Aitken for district attorney, replacing longtime DA Thomas Quinn, who also decided not to seek another term, MassLive reported.
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Framing: Headline declares Perkins the winner of the primary — Neutral, fact-based reporting
Facts Included:
Djuna Perkins claimed victory Wednesday in the seven-person Democratic primary to succeed Michael Morrissey as the district attorney for Norfolk County.
Perkins received 27,000 votes, according to election results as of 8:45 p.m. Wednesday.
Her closest competitor was Adam W. Deitch, a former federal prosecutor, who conceded to Perkins around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Perkins campaign.
Deitch trailed by less than 3,000 votes.
Perkins received early support from elected prosecutors she had worked under, including former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger and former Suffolk District Attorney Ralph C. Martin II.
Late last month, Perkins also announced she secured the endorsement of Progressive Massachusetts, an influential, statewide group.
She will face Joseph M. Pagliarulo, a former state prosecutor from Millis who is running as a self-funded independent with $3,000 he donated to his campaign.
There is no Republican candidate.
The race was dominated by debate over how Morrissey had handled two high-profile investigations: the prosecution of Read in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe; and the death of Sandra Birchmore.
A jury last year acquitted Read of all charges connected to O’Keefe’s death.
In the Birchmore case, Morrissey’s office did not file any criminal charges, citing the state medical examiner’s finding that Birchmore killed herself.
But in a shocking development that some saw as a rebuke of Morrissey, federal investigators have since charged former Stoughton police detective Matthew Farwell, 40, in her death.
Morrissey announced in January that he would not seek another term.
The other candidates were Greg Connors, Morrissey’s former top homicide prosecutor, former Suffolk County prosecutors Macy Lee and Craig MacLellan, Robert Jubinville, a former Governor’s Councilor from Milton, and Braintree lawyer Jim Barakat.
Framing: Declares Djuna Perkins the winner of the Democratic nomination for Norfolk County district attorney. — Factual and neutral
Facts Included:
Djuna Perkins, a former prosecutor, assistant attorney general and assistant district attorney, edged out six challengers on the Democratic ballot in Tuesday’s primary to run in November to replace longtime Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey.
The Attleboro area was split, with Norfolk favoring Perkins, and Foxborough, Plainville and Wrentham backing the runner-up, Adam Deitch, who left his job as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston to run.
Perkins, who was the first in the race to challenge Morrissey, will face independent candidate Joe Pagliarulo in the general election.
The unusual high number of Democratic candidates were vying to replace Morrissey, who was elected in 2010 but decided not to run for another term.
Morrissey faced heavy criticism for his office’s handling of the Karen Read and Sandra Birchmore cases.
In Norfolk, Perkins received 514 votes and Deitch, 369 votes.
In Foxborough, the vote was 610 for Deitch, and 512 for Perkins.
Plainville Democrats also picked Deitch, with 283 votes, to Perkins getting 227 votes.
Wrentham saw Deitch receive 457 votes to 410 for Perkins.
Greg Connor, a top prosecutor in the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office for the last 25 years, received 13,814 or 15% of the votes.
A total of 327 Foxborough voters sided with Connor, the only of the four area communities where a third candidate received more than 300 votes.
Macy Lee, a former Suffolk County assistant district attorney who currently serves as the director of the Office of Medicaid Board of Hearings for Massachusetts, took in 10,042 or 10.9% of the county votes.
Robert Jubinville, a decade-long member of the Governor’s Council, had 7,674 or 8.3% of the votes.
Other candidates were Jim Barakat, a public defender, and Craig MacLellan, a solo legal practitioner and criminal defense attorney who also served on the Cohasset School Committee, who both came in a distant sixth and seventh in the contest.
Voters have to wait until November to make a decision for Bristol County district attorney.
Christopher Markey, a state representative and attorney, is running on the Democratic ballot, and Seth Aitken, a former Fall River city administrator from Swansea, is the Republican challenger.
One will replace longtime DA Thomas Quinn, who decided not to seek another term.
Framing: highlights the primary win and poses a question about the candidate's background — neutral and factual with a celebratory element from direct quotes
Facts Included:
Djuna Perkins won the seven-way Democratic primary election for Norfolk County District Attorney Tuesday
Perkins is seeking to succeed longtime Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey
Morrissey has served as Norfolk County DA for more than two decades and is not running for reelection
Adam Deitch ran a close second in the preliminary results
Perkins will face independent Joe Pagliarulo in the general election on Nov. 3
Perkins had her strongest showing in Brookline with 3,924 votes, or around 44% of the 8,964 ballots cast
Deitch led in Quincy with 3,540 votes
Craig MacLellan won in his hometown of Cohasset with 518 votes
AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the mastheads we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimDjuna Perkins claimed victory Wednesday in the seven-person Democratic primary to succeed Michael Morrissey as the district attorney for Norfolk County.
ClaimHer closest competitor was Adam W. Deitch, a former federal prosecutor, who conceded to Perkins around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Perkins campaign.
ClaimPerkins received early support from elected prosecutors she had worked under, including former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger and former Suffolk District Attorney Ralph C. Martin II.
ClaimPerkins will face Joseph M. Pagliarulo, a former state prosecutor from Millis running as a self-funded independent with $3,000 he donated to his campaign, in the general election.
ClaimThe race was dominated by debate over how Morrissey had handled two high-profile investigations: the prosecution of Karen Read in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, and the death of Sandra Birchmore.
ClaimIn the Birchmore case, Morrissey’s office did not file any criminal charges, citing the state medical examiner’s finding that Birchmore killed herself.
ClaimPerkins, a former prosecutor, assistant attorney general and assistant district attorney, edged out six challengers on the Democratic ballot in Tuesday’s primary.
ClaimMacy Lee, a former Suffolk County assistant district attorney who currently serves as the director of the Office of Medicaid Board of Hearings for Massachusetts, took in 10,042 or 10.9% of the county votes.
ClaimJim Barakat, a public defender, and Craig MacLellan, a solo legal practitioner and criminal defense attorney who also served on the Cohasset School Committee, came in sixth and seventh in the contest.
ClaimChristopher Markey, a state representative and attorney, is running on the Democratic ballot for Bristol County district attorney, and Seth Aitken, a former Fall River city administrator from Swansea, is the Republican challenger.