Sitting Cape and Islands district attorney Robert Galibois won Tuesday’s Democratic primary with widespread support from Vineyard voters.
Facing off against challenger Michael Giardino, Mr. Galibois garnered the backing of the Island, with an unofficial tally of 2,081 to 847. Aquinnah voted 63-33; Chilmark 240-97; West Tisbury 415-69; Tisbury 463-200; Oak Bluffs 460-234; and Edgartown 440-214.
In a statement Tuesday evening, Mr. Galibois thanked the Vineyard community for putting its trust in his office to raise the bar for public safety.
“We will continue to address the root causes of crime in order to both reduce recidivism and prevent crime,” he said. “My office will continue to build the relationships with our law enforcement partners and community stakeholders to bring a comprehensive approach to public safety.”
Mr. Giardino conceded the race shortly after 10 p.m., with Mr. Galibois securing Barnstable, the largest town on Cape Cod by a wide margin.
“Tonight is not what we had hoped for but despite the loss, I am proud of this campaign,” Mr. Giardino said in a statement to the press.
Mr. Galibois, who is the first Democrat elected in five decades as the region’s top prosecutor, won his first term in 2022, and told the Gazette in the lead up to the election that he wanted to continue bolstering services on the Cape and Islands.
A focus on elder fraud, opening a special court for veterans and protecting immigrants who are victims of crimes were all top priorities.
Mr. Galibois, a longtime defense attorney before becoming district attorney, has no apparent competitor in the general election in November. There were no candidates for district attorney in the Republican primary.
Mr. Giardino is a former member of the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office but left in recent years to take a job in the Plymouth County office. During the campaign he routinely criticized the current administration’s running of the office, saying it has neglected victim services and the community.
He pointed to several people leaving the office due to what he called mismanagement.
“What I saw, and a lot of the staff started to see when we were there, was excessive turnover of employees,” he told the Gazette previously. “As a result, we started to see a negative effect on victim services.”
Mr. Galibois claimed that when he took office in 2022, a sense of complacency had settled in among many staffers who had worked with former district attorney Michael O’Keefe, resulting in a shuffle of employees.
In other Democratic races, the Vineyard backed Ed Markey over Seth Moulton for the U.S Senate seat, and Bill Keating over Craig Swallow for the U.S. House of Representatives seat.
State Sen. Julian Cyr and state Rep. Thomas Moakley had no primary challengers and there were no candidates in the Republican primary.
Island Republicans backed Michael Minogue over Brian Shortsleeve. The winner of that race will face off against Maura Healey in November.
Tristan Israel, Christine Todd and Richard (Peter) Wharton all ran for seats on the Dukes County Commission. There were a total of seven spots available on the ballot, and clerks were still tallying up write-in votes Tuesday.
Emma Kilbride, Charles Leitner, Haley Sandlow and Louisa Hufstader contributed to this article.
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