Incumbent state Sen. Adam G. Hinds was well on his way to a sweeping re-election victory late last night for a second term on Beacon Hill, beating back a challenge in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election.
At press time, Hinds had about eight times the votes as his opponent, with most of the local towns reporting.
The 42-year-old Pittsfield Democrat, who was raised in Shelburne Falls and is a Mohawk Trail Regional High School graduate, was at deadline far ahead of Lee Selectman Tom P. Wickham in a race for the 52-community district.
The results at press time showed Hinds with 16,603 votes to Wickham’s 1980.
There is no Republican candidate for the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden district, which represents nine Franklin County towns, so Tuesday’s primary is tantamount to deciding the election.
The district includes Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Conway, Hawley, Heath, Monroe, Rowe and Shelburne in Franklin County.
A 58-year-old carpenter seeking state office for the first time, Wickham is a Lee selectman and Planning Board member who has also served on the Lee Energy Committee as well on the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.