Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden won a decisive victory on Tuesday as he fended off challenges from former staffer Linda Champion and Rachael Rollins, his predecessor, winning 50.8 percent of the vote, with Champion finishing second with 26.5 percent, and Rollins taking 22.7 percent, according to unofficial results.
With no Republican or independent on the ballot, Hayden will not face an opponent in the November election.
“What the voters said is that they want four more years of results,” Hayden told his supporters Tuesday night at the Stockyard restaurant in Allston. “Strategies, and concepts that deliver real results. Real results like historically low crime rates and historically low violent crime rates.”
Rollins, who was elected to the seat in 2018 riding a wave of progressive support, challenged Hayden from the left, claiming that he had pulled back from reforms she had led, including investigations of police use of deadly force and overturning wrongful convictions.
Champion, who sought the seat in the 2018 election that Rollins won, challenged Hayden from the right, questioning his move to charge police officer Nicholas O’Malley with manslaughter for the fatal shooting of Stephenson King, a Dorchester man suspected in a carjacking.
While Champion benefitted from an endorsement from the Boston Police Patrolman’s Association, Hayden received endorsements from Mayor Michelle Wu and other prominent politicians. In his remarks, he singled out Wu, Sen. Lydia Edwards, state Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe.
“Those four people have been unbelievably supportive, have been amazing in standing by me, not just during the campaign, but each and every day that we do the work to keep the citizens of Suffolk County safe,” Hayen said.
Also present at his election night gathering were Rep. Kevin Honan, City Councillor Sharon Durkhan, Suffolk County Register of Deeds Stephen Murphy, and Suffolk County Clerk of Supreme Court Allison Cartwright.
The three candidates for DA at a candidates’ forum in Roxbury in August 2026. From left: Rachael Rollins, Kevin Hayden, and Linda Champion. Yawu Miller photo
This year’s campaign was at times contentious.
Rollins resigned from the office of the US Attorney in 2023 after an ethics probe accused her of violating federal law by attending a Democratic fundraiser and leaking Department of Justice information to harm a political opponent. Hayden was fined $5,000 after his office sent out a press release about his political opponent in the 2022 election. Those charges provided fodder during the campaign and came to the fore during an August forum with the three candidates at Hibernian Hall.
Ward 14 Democratic Committee Chair Darryl Smith said Hayden benefitted from the city’s plummeting crime rate and that voters were also impressed with his move to charge O’Malley with manslaughter for the shooting death of Stephenson King.
“The minority community has waited over 30 years for the DA to make it clear that if the police shoot an unarmed man, they get prosecuted like anyone else,” he said.
During his remarks, Hayden thanked his staff for their help on the campaign and their work over the last four years.
“Thank you for everything that you do each and every day of the week, 365 days a year to deliver for the citizens of Suffolk County,” he said. “You are the greatest public servants anyone could ask for.”
