Canton voters back Lynch, Gomez in Senate primary

U.S. Congressman Stephen Lynch easily carried his home district, including Canton, in Tuesday’s special state primary for U.S. Senate, but it was not enough to overtake his congressional colleague Ed Markey, who cruised to the Democratic nomination with 57 percent of the vote.

Markey, a 36-year veteran of Congress and a resident of Malden, carried the city of Boston as well as most of the north shore and nearly all of Cape Cod and western Massachusetts. A progressive Democrat, he was the favorite to win after securing the backing of several key leaders within the party — including the last person to occupy the Senate seat, current Secretary of State John Kerry.

As for Lynch, a conservative Democrat and a former ironworker from South Boston, he was the popular choice in the central and southeastern portions of the state, including the 23 towns in the 8^th Congressional District, where he received almost two-thirds of the votes cast.

In Canton, Lynch took all six precincts and 62 percent of the vote (1,605-992), bolstered by supporters such as state Representative Bill Galvin and Selectman John Connolly.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side, ex-Navy Seal Gabriel Gomez won the nomination rather convincingly — both in Canton and across Massachusetts — over former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan of Abington and state Representative Daniel Winslow of Norfolk.

Gomez, a political newcomer from Cohasset, had supporters from all corners of the commonwealth and finished with 51 percent of the vote, compared to 36 percent for Sullivan and just 13 percent for Winslow.

The results in Canton were almost identical, with Gomez taking 52 percent of the Republican vote, although Sullivan did manage to eke out a victory in precinct 5 (68-60).

Overall, there were 3,355 voters, or approximately 24 percent, who made it to the polls in Canton on Tuesday — a better than expected turnout for a primary election, particularly in light of the recent tragic events in Boston.

The two winners, Markey and Gomez, will now face off in the special election scheduled for Tuesday, June 25.

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Posted by Jay Turner on May 2 2013. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.