Robert Ogden won the Democratic nomination for a second six-year term as Dukes County sheriff, soundly defeating former Oak Bluffs police chief Erik Blake in a Sept. 6 primary that drew more than 26 per cent of county voters to the polls on a rare rainy day.

Three write-in candidates for Dukes County Commission earned enough votes to join three incumbents on the November general election ballot. Tristan Israel, James Klingensmith and Doug Ruskin will run as Democrats alongside Donald R. Leopold, Christine C. Todd and Richard G. Wharton for seats on the seven-member commission, having garnered more than the 25 required write-in votes apiece.

In a three-way Republican race for Cape and Islands district attorney, Daniel Higgins tied John F. Carey on the Island, but won decisively overall. An assistant district attorney, Higgins will face Democrat Robert Joseph Galibois, a former assistant district attorney, who was unopposed in the primary, for the seat being vacated by logintime District Attorney Michael O’Keefe.

In statewide races, Island votes were mostly in line with those in the rest of the state. Democrats gave strong support to Maura Healey for governor, Kimberly Driscoll for lieutenant governor, Andrea Joy Campbell for attorney general, William F. Galvin for secretary of state and Diana Dizoglio for state auditor. Island Republicans bucked the state trend in favoring Chris Doughty over Geoff Diehl for governor. Mr. Diehl will face Ms. Healey in November.

In the Island’s most closely watched primary race, Mr. Ogden outpolled Mr. Blake in all six Island towns as well as Gosnold. With write-in votes still incomplete, Mr. Ogden had a 586-vote lead over Mr. Blake, 2,116 to 1,530. Because there were no Republicans on the ballot, the winner of the Democratic primary is the presumptive winner of the November election.

The county’s chief law enforcement officer, the sheriff is responsible for the Dukes County jail well as the Dukes County radio communications network, which coordinates emergency response around the Island.

A career corrections officer, Mr. Ogden first won election in 2016. In campaign appearances, he said his priorities would be to continue to make improvements to the Islandwide radio network and to rehabilitate the county correctional facility, which dates to 1873, and improve conditions there.

“I am honored and privileged to continue the work of the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office and the will of the people of Martha’s Vineyard,” Mr. Ogden said to the Gazette. “I am their representative in public safety and I hold that privilege sacred. Our core beliefs of integrity, professionalism, and respect are not just words on our standard, they guide every decision we make. I am so honored and proud to serve a second term, and promise to serve to the best of my ability.”

On election night, Mr. Ogden said he was “just really excited about getting back to work” and gave thanks to his campaign council and “the 45 volunteers who stood out in the rain today.”
Mr. Blake, who ran for the office after retiring from almost two decades as Oak Bluffs police chief earlier this year, also thanked his supporters.

“I congratulate Bob Ogden on his primary win. I had a tremendous amount of support from my family and the community. In the end it wasn’t enough to overcome an incumbent,” he told the Gazette. “I’m proud of the campaign I ran and the career I enjoyed for 35 years. I’m excited to see what new doors open for me in the near future.”

Turnout for the primary ranged from 32.5 percent in Aquinnah to 21.6 percent in Edgartown. Turnout in non-presidential primaries has varied widely in Dukes County, from just 17 percent in 2014 to 33 percent for the last statewide primary election in 2018.

“We had about 24 per cent of voters turn out, which is pretty average compared to other years but pretty good for a primary. There seemed to be a good amount of interest. The rain didn’t stop them,” Edgartown town clerk Karen Medeiros said.

“It’s been nice and steady all day, which has been a pleasant surprise for a primary,” said West Tisbury town clerk Tara Whiting-Wells, where turnout was at 30 per cent. “We had 235 early votes and voters are still rolling in at the end of the night.”

Town officials have four days to file official results, so some race outcomes were not be known immediately. Voting in Barnstable was also extended to midnight to make up for a delayed start in that town, which may add to the delays in some Cape and Islands race results.

Here are consolidated results from Dukes County for individual primary races:

Governor: Democrats voted heavily for Maura Healey, who received 3,144 votes. Republicans narrowly favored Chris Doughty over Geoff Diehl, 296 to 289.

Lieutenant governor: Island Democrats favored Kimberly Driscoll with 1,497 votes over Eric Lesser with 949 and Tami Gouveia with 778. Republicans supported Leah Allen over Kate Campanale with 282 votes to 232. Ms. Driscoll and Ms. Allen won their parties’ support statewide as well.

Attorney general: Democrats overwhelmingly supported Andrea Joy Campbell with 1,943 votes to Shannon Erika Liss-Riordan’s 836 and Quentin Palfrey, 598. Ms. Campbell will face Republican James R. McMahon III in November.

Secretary of state: Island Democrats favored longtime incumbent William F. Galvin over Tanisha M Sullivan ,2,345 to 1,202. Mr. Galvin will face Republican Rayla Campbell in November.

State Senate: Island Republicans chose Christopher Robert Lauzon over Daralyn Andrea Heywood for state senate by a vote of 254 to 216. Regional results were still being tallied at press time, so it was unclear which Republican would face Democratic incumbent Julian Andre Cyr in the November election.

Representative in Congress. Island Republicans narrowly favored Dan Sullivan with 253 votes to Jesse G. Brown’s 252. Regional votes are still be tallied to determine which will face incumbent Rep. Bill Keating, a Democrat, in November.

State Auditor. Democratic state Sen. Diana Dizoglio prevailed in the race for state auditor on the Island with 1,797 votes to Christopher S. Dempsey’s 1,229. Ms. Dizoglio will face Republican Anthony Amore in November.

Democratic candidates Deborah B. Goldberg for treasurer, Joseph C. Ferreira for councillor and Dylan Fernandez for state representative were unchallenged in the primaries.
For a full breakdown of votes cast in each of the Island towns, go to vineyardgazette.com.

Bill Eville, Louisa Hufstader, Aidan Pollard, Brooke Kushwaha, Noah Glasgow and Thomas Humphrey contributed to this story.

2022 Primary Election Results

Voter Turnout


  Registered Voters Registered Democrats Registered Republicans Ballots Cast % Turnout
Aquinnah 409 202 10 133 32.5%
Chilmark 1,108 491 44 391 35.3%
Edgartown 4,301 1,364 437 929 21.6%
Oak Bluffs 4,211 1,476 355 1,120 26.6%
Tisbury 3,717 1,349 215 955 25.7%
West Tisbury 2,775 1,138 120 831 30%
TOTAL 16,521 6,020 1,181 4,359 26.4%

Races

Governor D

  Sonia Rosa Chang-Díaz Maura Healey
Aquinnah 17 103
Chilmark 30 327
Edgartown 98 609
Oak Bluffs 130 757
Tisbury 120 690
West Tisbury 68 658
Total 463 3,144

Governor R

  Geoff Diehl Chris Doughty
Aquinnah 5 4
Chilmark 11 15
Edgartown 91 92
Oak Bluffs 77 108
Tisbury 63 42
West Tisbury 42 35
Total 289 296

Lieutenant Governor D

  Kimberley Driscoll Tami Gouveia Eric P. Lesser
Aquinnah 78 27 41
Chilmark 132 76 95
Edgartown 345 121 178
Oak Bluffs 370 154 237
Tisbury 311 213 212
West Tisbury 261 187 186
Total 1,497 778 949

Lieutenant Governor R

  Leah V. Allen Kate Campanale
Aquinnah 3 4
Chilmark 15 8
Edgartown 74 81
Oak Bluffs 97 63
Tisbury 54 44
West Tisbury 40 32
Total 283 232

Attorney General D

  Andrea Joy Campbell Quentin Palfrey Shannon Erika Liss-Riordan
Aquinnah 78 16 22
Chilmark 218 38 82
Edgartown 344 92 227
Oak Bluffs 469 242 118
Tisbury 428 114 218
West Tisbury 406 96 169
Total 1,943 598 836

Attorney General R

  James R. McMahon, III
Aquinnah 8
Chilmark 20
Edgartown 152
Oak Bluffs 144
Tisbury 96
West Tisbury 61
Total 481

Secretary of State D

  William Francis Galvin Tanisha M. Sullivan
Aquinnah 74 42
Chilmark 217 132
Edgartown 512 189
Oak Bluffs 592 291
Tisbury 488 306
West Tisbury 462 242
Total 2,345 1,202

Secretary of State R

  Rayla Campbell
Aquinnah 8
Chilmark 22
Edgartown 142
Oak Bluffs 133
Tisbury 91
West Tisbury 57
Total 453

Treasurer D

  Deborah B. Goldberg
Aquinnah 98
Chilmark 303
Edgartown 594
Oak Bluffs 727
Tisbury 667
West Tisbury 572
Total 2,961

Auditor D

  Christopher S. Dempsey Diana Dizoglio
Aquinnah 36 58
Chilmark 147 148
Edgartown 288 332
Oak Bluffs 313 434
Tisbury 228 461
West Tisbury 217 364
Total 1,229 1,797

Auditor R

  Anthony Amore
Aquinnah 7
Chilmark 18
Edgartown 133
Oak Bluffs 124
Tisbury 80
West Tisbury 55
Total 417

Rep in Congress D-9 D

  Bill Keating
Aquinnah 108
Chilmark 327
Edgartown 638
Oak Bluffs 791
Tisbury 705
West Tisbury 656
Total 3,225

Rep in Congress D-9 R

  Jesse G. Brown Dan Sullivan
Aquinnah 3 4
Chilmark 10 13
Edgartown 81 76
Oak Bluffs 77 78
Tisbury 47 52
West Tisbury 34 30
Total 252 253

Councillor, First District D

  Joseph C. Ferreira
Aquinnah 86
Chilmark 276
Edgartown 554
Oak Bluffs 678
Tisbury 614
West Tisbury 547
Total 2,755

State Senator D

  Julian Andre Cyr
Aquinnah 109
Chilmark 316
Edgartown 620
Oak Bluffs 762
Tisbury 697
West Tisbury 647
Total 3,151

State Senator R

  Daralyn Andrea Heywood Christopher Robert Lauzon
Aquinnah 3 4
Chilmark 13 7
Edgartown 66 82
Oak Bluffs 65 75
Tisbury 44 47
West Tisbury 25 39
Total 216 254

State Rep

  Dylan Fernandes
Aquinnah 109
Chilmark 315
Edgartown 620
Oak Bluffs 781
Tisbury 704
West Tisbury 653
Total 3,182

District Attorney D

  Robert Joseph Galibois
Aquinnah 91
Chilmark 289
Edgartown 566
Oak Bluffs 684
Tisbury 632
West Tisbury 567
Total 2,829

District Attorney R

  Melissa R. Alden John F. Carey Daniel Higgins
Aquinnah 1 3 4
Chilmark 5 7 9
Edgartown 37 68 57
Oak Bluffs 39 53 70
Tisbury 28 42 25
West Tisbury 19 23 31
Total 129 196 196

Sheriff, Dukes County D

  Robert Ogden Erik Blake
Aquinnah 64 51
Chilmark 189 161
Edgartown 481 238
Oak Bluffs 467 438
Tisbury 450 365
West Tisbury 453 275
Total 2,104 1,528

County Commissioner D

  Donald R. Leopold Christine Catherine Todd Richard G. Wharton
Aquinnah 73 81 60
Chilmark 250 222 175
Edgartown 399 474 375
Oak Bluffs 404 611 482
Tisbury 440 542 439
West Tisbury 397 479 366
Total 1,963 2,409 1,897