The Democratic Party's incumbent governor Stefano Bonaccini (R) and his wife Sandra arrive to cast their ballot in the regional elections in Emilia-Romagna. | Elisabetta Baracchi/EPA-EFE/ANSA Italy’s center left fends off Salvini’s far-right advance in regional vote Incumbent Governor Stefano Bonaccini beats out Matteo Salvini’s candidate.

ROME — Italy’s center left maintained its grip on power in the region of Emilia-Romagna after a local election Sunday, fending off an attempt by far-right leader Matteo Salvini to seize control of the longtime left-wing bastion.

Incumbent Governor Stefano Bonaccini from the Democratic Party (PD) won 51.4 percent of the vote in the regional election, giving him a roughly 8 percentage point margin ahead of Lucia Borgonzoni from Salvini’s League party, who won 43.6 percent. Turnout was up more than 20 percentage points compared with five years ago.

The candidate of the anti-establishment 5Stars Movement, Simone Benini, won only 3.5 percent of the vote.

“The PD is now the key pillar to building an alternative to the extremist League party,” said Secretary of the Democratic Party Nicola Zingaretti in response to the projections.

The results in the wealthy northern region bring an end to a brutal two-month-long campaign. Emilia-Romagna has only been governed by left-wing or Communist parties since World War II, but the election became a neck-and-neck race between Bonaccini and Borgonzoni amid widespread anger at Italy's national coalition government between the Democratic Party and the anti-establishment 5Star Movement.

Salvini had painted the regional vote as a test of the popularity of the two ruling parties, especially in light of struggles within the 5Star Movement that prompted Luigi Di Maio to step down as party leader last week following months of party infighting and dwindling public support.

“I’m proud there was a match in the region for the first time in 75 years," Salvini told a press conference as projections were announced.

The southern region of Calabria also headed to the polls on Sunday. Jole Santelli from Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative Forza Italia won a landslide victory, as expected. The outgoing PD governor, who did not stand for reelection, resigned last year over corruption allegations.

The 5Stars, meanwhile, plummeted to 6.2 percent. Just two years ago, in the 2018 general election, the party had won 42 percent in Calabria.

This article has been updated.