It's a familiar ritual in American politics: after a hard-fought primary race, the candidates bury the hatchet and back the winner, dead-set on beating the other party in the general election.
But in Fall River's first Republican state senate primary in decades, that may not happen.
"I ran this race honestly and with integrity. Mr. Amaral did not," wrote Manny Silva, who lost the race, in a statement to The Herald News.
Silva, a para-educator and retired IT specialist from Somerset, narrowly lost the GOP primary for the First Bristol and Plymouth state Senate district to Gabriel "Boomer" Amaral, a realtor who nearly was elected Fall River mayor in 2025.
"Ten days before Election Day, my opponent publicly accused me of watching the abuse of little girls and remaining silent to protect my job. That claim is false. It is a complete fabrication, and the facts will show it," Silva wrote.
In an interview with The Herald News, Silva said he has not decided whether to give Amaral an endorsement. He said earning one would be a "tough hill to climb" for the primary winner.
"If your opponent accuses you of a crime 10 days before the election, and then compliments you after he wins, would you readily decide to endorse that opponent or not?" Silva asked rhetorically.
Amaral wished Silva and his family well in a victory statement.
In January, Silva had criticized Amaral for entering the race after stating "clearly that he would not run for state Senate because I was already in the race."
The two candidates were separated by just over 1 percentage point in the district, which includes Fall River, Swansea, Somerset, Freetown, Westport, Rochester and Lakeville. Silva won 3,474 votes; Amaral won 3,558 votes.
The primary results are outside the 0.5% margin required for a recount.
On Aug. 22, Amaral wrote on Facebook that an unspecified "you" — apparently Silva — "can't protect kids in the school you work in because your 'para' job is more important" and that this person "never stood up to the system to protect anyone especially children."
Amaral and Silva both said that post referred to an incident at a candidates' forum, where a Rochester father said he has reportedly filed a Title IX complaint after alleging a transgender student barged into his daughter's bathroom stall.
Silva said the forum was at a meeting of the Rochester Republican Town Committee.
After the dad spoke, Silva related his experiences working as Joseph Case High School in Swansea, Amaral said in an Aug. 22 Facebook video.
"He basically stated that he has to watch these young girls come out of the bathroom crying and go to the counselors, and basically, long story short, nobody does anything," Amaral said. "Well, what did you do?"
Silva declined to get into details he shared at that meeting, but said they related to transgender students' use of bathrooms of their choice.
Under Massachusetts law, transgender students can use bathrooms that match their gender identity.
"I was basically talking about my moral disagreement with what is legally acceptable at the school," he said.
Silva stressed that any incidents he was referring to "were not close to being something I should or would report on."
As a school employee for the last three years, Silva said, he is a mandated reporter, as is his wife, who has worked in schools for over 20 years. While he hasn't had to report suspected abuse, Silva said, his wife has. Mandated reporters who fail to report abuse can face fines and jail time.
Silva condemned Amaral's comments for tarnishing the reputations of Joseph Case High School administrators.
In an interview, Amaral said he never accused Silva of committing a crime. He said he criticized Silva because he "didn't try to fight" or "stand up for" female students.
Amaral said he's "not worried" about Silva supporting his campaign.
"That proves to me that you weren't the best candidate, you weren't here for the people, you weren't here for the right reasons, you were just here for the attention. I don't care, I get plenty of attention," Amaral said. "Most of it's negative, but I don't care."
Voters will choose between Amaral and Democratic state Sen. Michael Rodrigues in the Nov. 3 general election.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: No endorsement as GOP state Senate candidates feud. 'I don't care'