Local news

Attorney Allison Cartwright triumphed in Tuesday's primary election over Boston City Councilwoman Erin Murphy after a surprisingly heated race for a little-known administrative position on the state's highest court.

Incumbent Maura Doyle served as clerk of the Suffolk County Superior Court for nearly 30 years, but didn’t run for re-election this 12 months.

What followed was a proxy war between progressive Democrats like Mayor Michelle Wu, who supported Cartwright, and moderate Democrats like City Councilman Ed Flynn, who supported Murphy.

Voters in Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop selected Cartwright with 30,358 votes, or about 60 percent of the ballots solid. Murphy, a former teacher, received 20,500 votes, or 40 percent, based on unofficial results from the town of Boston.

With no Republican within the race, Cartwright is predicted to be declared the winner in November.

“This is a victory for democracy, a victory for the independence of the courts and especially of our state's highest court,” Cartwright said after the unofficial results were announced Tuesday evening.

The position of clerk primarily Admission of lawyers to the bar and disciplinary matters for lawyers. Cartwright, a longtime public defender, argued she was higher qualified for the position. Murphy said her background as a teacher and city councilor spoke to the role.

Both candidates Hundreds of hundreds of dollars raised and garnered outstanding support. Cartwright was also endorsed by Representative Ayanna Pressley, Senator Lydia Edwards and Attorney General Andrea Campbell.

To my family, friends, and supporters – I can't thank you adequate to your support of my campaign over the previous few months. I couldn't be prouder to announce that we won this race! As a first-time candidate, this all feels a little bit surreal, but I’m stuffed with gratitude., Allison pic.twitter.com/AVKdfSUH50

— Committee to Elect Allison S. Cartwright, Esq. (@ElectCartwright) 4 September 2024

Murphy didn’t reply to a request for comment Wednesday.