The primary election to fill the vacant U.S. House of Representatives seat from Massachusetts’s district 5 closed last night and two candidates emerged from the fray. From the left, it was Katherine Clark, the perpetual favorite and likely successor to Ed Markey, now the Bay State’s junior Senator. From the right it was Frank Addivinola, a relative unknown but more than qualified candidate with more degrees than a thermometer.

Going into the race it was clear that Clark had a stranglehold on the polls to go with her reputable endorsements from the likes of Attorney General Martha Coakley and EMILY’S List but it was less certain who the GOP supporters would elect.

On the part of the Democrats, 32 percent –or 21,959 votes — were cast in Clark’s favor, a solid 10-point margin ahead of Peter Koutoujian, Middlesex County Sheriff from whom Clark managed to steal advocacy from the county’s state representatives.

Addivinola won in a landslide with 49 percent, to runner-up Mike Stopa’s mere 26 percent, though it’s important to note that he faced just two contenders to Clark’s six, and the historically left-leaning district saw a substantially higher turnout in favor of the blues compared to the reds.

Yesterday, Massachusetts Secretary William Galvin optimistically predicted 120,000 Democrats and 20,000 Republicans would cast a ballot in yesterday’s primary. In a possible show of disinterest or impartiality just 69,525 Dems and 9,692 GOP affiliates made it to the polls, a similar stat-line to Senator Markey’s special primary election back in April.

For voters in the district, keep in mind that the last day to register to vote in the general election is November 5. Election day is December 10. For any other important dates or information, check out Galvin’s State website complete with an electoral calendar and general information.