Joe Onoroski, who ran for state representative in Massachusetts’ 17th Middlesex district on Tuesday as a Pirate Party candidate, has set the record for the highest percentage of votes ever earned by a Pirate in a partisan race, as well as the best performance for a Pirate candidate in Massachusetts.
The Pirate Party highlighted Onoroski’s performance on social media following the election, stating “Joe Onoroski, our Pirate nominee for the 17th Middlesex state rep. district, got 2663 votes and 22% of the vote. It was our highest percentage in a partisan election, ever. Congratulations, Joe!”
Onoroski, the state party’s quartermaster, challenged incumbent Democratic state representative Vanna Howard. His campaign was the only partisan campaign mounted by a Massachusetts Pirate Party candidate this year. No other candidates appeared on the 17th Middlesex’s ballot besides Onoroski and Howard.
| Candidate Name | Listed Party | Vote Total | Vote Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanna Howard | Democratic | 9,309 | 77.8% |
| Joseph Onoroski | Pirate | 2,603 | 22.2% |
In addition to surpassing the previous record held by Aaron James, whose 2016 campaign in the 27th Middlesex district earned 12.7% of the total vote, Onoroski’s performance also marks the highest percentage earned by a Pirate candidate in a partisan election in the United States, although there have been other candidates who earned more total votes.
Previously, the strongest-performing Pirate Party member in any state legislative election was Joseph Klein in Wisconsin’s 19th assembly district, who earned 3,943 votes but only 17.7% of the total in his 2014 race. Ethan Osborne also earned 10,111 votes in his 2022 race for Kentucky’s 4th congressional district, but received only four percent of the total vote. It’s worth noting that Klein and Osborn were both listed on the ballot in their respective elections as independents.
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