Brown wins big in Canton

In what will no doubt be an election that will go down in the history books, Republican state Representative Scott Brown overwhelmingly defeated his Democratic challenger, state Attorney General Martha Coakley, in Tuesday’s highly contentious and pivotal race to succeed the late Senator Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate.

Bud Jennings and Karen Taylor of Canton show their support for Scott Brown Tuesday at the Kennedy School.           Kathy Anderson Photo

Canton voters cast 60 percent of their votes for Brown  and 39 percent for Coakley,  with Brown winning big in all six of the town’s voting precincts. State wide, Brown won by a margin of 51.9 percent to Coakley’s 47.1 percent.

Voter turnout in Canton was higher than in the past several years for a state election, with 67 percent of the town’s 14,395 registered voters casting ballots on Tuesday.

“The turnout so far has been comparable to what we see in a presidential election,” one poll worker at the Kennedy School said Tuesday afternoon.

While Massachusetts has traditionally been a dominantly Democratic state, underdog Brown came from behind in what many people initially predicted would be a landslide victory for Coakley. In the past two weeks, Brown tipped the scales and the outcome became too close to predict.

Numerous supporters for both Coakley and Brown braved the cold temperature and light snow Tuesday in each of Canton’s four voting locations.

“I am supporting Scott Brown because we need genuine change from the socialist turn this country has taken,” said Bud Jennings outside the Kennedy School. “He will be a breath of fresh air in Washington.”

Mike Logan of the Canton Democratic Town Committee was campaigning for Coakley at the Luce School. “Martha shows a direct leadership for the country and she’s done a great job as Attorney General,” he said. “I think she’ll show the same leadership role in the U.S. Senate.”

“I’ve been a member of the Canton Republican Town Committee for several years,” said Karen Taylor, who was holding a Brown sign at the Kennedy School. “We haven’t had a Republican in the Senate for a long time and we need a different voice. Scott will look at the issues from a different perspective.”

Bill Gorman stood in front of a Coakley sign, waving at voters at the Kennedy School. “I like what Martha’s done as attorney general,” he said. “I think she’ll follow what Ted Kennedy has been working on with the health care bill and be a stronger voice in the Senate than Brown. She has the track record.”

Despite the recent profusion of advertising by Coakley and Brown, Independent candidate Joseph Kennedy received one percent of the votes in Canton.

“I’m very pleased with the voter turnout,” Town Clerk Tracy Kenney said. “Sixty-seven percent is terrific and I am very happy with that. I would have been happy with 40 percent, so this was great.”

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=896

Posted by Canton Citizen on Jan 21 2010. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.