Marblehead voters helped Democratic candidates dominate at the polls statewide by voting blue in each race on Tuesday’s ballot.
Despite the fact that there are about 16,000 registered voters in Marblehead according to the Town Clerk’s office, only 6,484 local ballots were cast in the election, meaning more than half of those eligible to vote did not.
In addition to answering four statewide questions, Marblehead voters also cast their vote on a fifth. The fifth local question asked Marbleheaders if their State Rep. should be directed by the Electorate to vote for Transparency in the Massachusetts State House. It passed in a landslide, with 4,555 voters saying yes, and 846 answering no.
Question 1 which proposed an additional tax on income over $1 million passed in Massachusetts, but not in Marblehead with 2,603 local votes cast in favor and 3,800 cast in opposition.
The second ballot question before voters, which concerned the regulation of dental insurance, received a resounding “yes” from voters statewide, with more than 70 percent of voters approving the question. In Marblehead, that pattern continued, with 4,462 votes cast in the affirmative, and just 1,886 cast against the proposal.
Question 3 which sought to expand the availability of alcohol sale licenses failed by a comfortable margin of 227,335 statewide and by a narrow margin of 190 Marblehead.
The final statewide ballot question, Question 4, garnered the most narrow margin of victory statewide, with nearly 54 percent of votes cast in favor of keeping a law in place allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses. In Marblehead, 3,372 of the total 6,335 votes cast on the referendum were in favor of keeping the law in place, while 2,963 residents voted against the measure.
Attorney General Maura Healey and Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll swept all six Marblehead precincts in the race for governor and lieutenant governor. Healey and Driscoll beat out Republican challengers Geoff Diehl and Leah Cole Allen, receiving 4,013 of the 6,484 votes cast in that race.
In the race for Representative in Congress Sixth District, Democratic candidate Seth Moulton held onto his seat in the House with a win over Republican candidate Bob May. Moulton won comfortably in all six Marblehead precincts.
Incumbent state Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) also cruised to re-election, garnering 660 of 969 votes cast, to defeat Independent Annalisa Salustri. Crighton nearly doubled Salustri’s vote counts in each precinct.
Tuesday’s election featured a number of unopposed candidates, including Eighth Essex District state Rep.-elect Jenny Armini and Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger. Tuesday’s election also solidified state Rep. Paul Tucker primary victory in the race for Essex district attorney, and Terrence Kennedy’s re-election as sixth district councilor on the Governor’s Council.
In the other statewide races, former Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell emerged triumphant in the race for attorney general, winning all six precincts in Marblehead en route to becoming the first Black woman to win statewide office. The most competitive race statewide was that of auditor, where state Sen. Diana DiZoglio fended off Republican Anthony Amore, who was endorsed by outgoing Gov. Charlie Baker.
At a campaign event in Boston Tuesday night, candidates delivered triumphant speeches, beginning with Driscoll, who reflected on the history-making nature of the candidacy, with Healey becoming the first woman and first openly-gay person to be elected governor, proclaiming “we made her-story.”
“Massachusetts voters stood proud and said with one voice it’s her time,” Driscoll told the crowd, which had grown to hundreds by around 9:30 p.m. “This is a moment in history. Let’s soak it in.”
Healey added that she was “proud” to break through the glass ceiling in Massachusetts and said residents had given Democrats a “historic opportunity.”
“Tonight I want to say something to every little girl and every young LGBTQ person out there. I hope tonight shows you that you can be whatever, whoever you want to be,” Healey said. “Nothing and no one can ever get in your way.”
Campbell emphasized her commitment to maintaining the office of the attorney general as that of “the people’s lawyer,” and said her campaign was personal, but not for her, instead, she said, it was for the voters.
“I am here to say … I see you, I hear you,” Campbell said. “Government should remove barriers, and not stand in the way of progress or justice and as attorney general, I will make sure it does just that.”
The final candidate to speak to supporters Tuesday evening was DiZoglio, who took the stage just before 11 p.m. While she stopped short of declaring victory, DiZoglio appeared triumphant and said she was excited to get to work.
“Together, we will help ensure that working families just like ours get access to and accountability from our state government, regardless of our family background, our bank balance, or our zip code,” she said. “I will be the people’s auditor.”
U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey both took the stage Tuesday night, and said regardless of the outcome of the national races, Massachusetts had “a lot to celebrate.”
“We are in for some tough times but here’s what I know for sure: Maura will fight for you, Kim will fight for you,” Warren said.
Markey added that “we are the revolutionary state, and tonight we have a new revolution.”