1,713 Southborough voters took part in the primary yesterday. That’s 22.4% of registered voters — a significant uptick from the 15% who voted in the 2024 state primary.
If you’re interested in the results, you probably already know who the big winners were. This post is my deeper look at how Southborough votes shook out versus overall results. You can also see who will be on our ballots for the general election this November.
In all of the races, the local results were fairly consistent with the statewide outcomes. (Some wins were more or less pronounced.)
As usual, most of the voters took part in the Democratic primary. 79% of the votes cast were on the Democratic ballot and 21% on the Republican.
The Town’s unofficial results don’t show how many of the voters in the primary were unenrolled, and therefore able to choose which primary to vote in. (That makes up 68% of Southborough’s electorate.) Of Southborough voters registered in one of the two parties, 68% are Democrats.
Democratic Results
In the most high profile race, 80 year old Ed Markey got the nod from 57% of voters on the ballot to continue his re-election bid as US Senator. Challenger, US Representative Seth Moulton only captured 42% of votes. (Close to 1% were blanks or write-ins.) Statewide results show that Moulton did better in Southborough than elsewhere. WBUR is showing a 65/35 split.
A significant share of the 1,357 voters left blanks for other offices on the ballot. That includes 17% who didn’t weigh in on the only other contest – the race for District 3 representative on the Governor’s Council.
The council race had gotten a bit spicy. But it was also a much lower profile race. The incumbent handily won the nomination for the district and support from our town. Of those that did weigh in, 58% selected Mara Dolan vs 25% for challenger Margie Palladino. (Only 2 voters wrote in alternative candidates.)
The show of support for uncontested incumbent candidates on the ballot ranged from 79.7% for Auditor Diana DiZoglio to 84.9% for US Representative Jim McGovern.
The highest number of write-ins was the 21 cast against Governor Maura Healey (representing only 1.5%). Second place was 9 write-ins against Attorney General Andrea Campbell.
Republican Results
In the general election this November, Healey will have to square off against Mike Minogue who captured 76% of the primary vote for Governor across the state. In Southborough, Minogue received support from 71% of the 356 Southborough voters who participated in that primary. His challenger, Brian Shortsleeve only captured 28%. (2 voters cast write-ins, and 4 left a blank.)
While that was the only official race on the ballot, this morning I learned about two write-in campaigns I was unaware of. One was unsuccessful, while the results of the other remain to be seen.
For the Lt Governor, Republican Anne Brensley was originally endorsed by the party for the seat. Both she and challenger Anne Manning Martin were kept off the ballot for failing to have enough legitimate signatures. They and Attorney General candidate Michael Walsh claimed they were victims of an alleged fraud scheme by a professional that hired to collect the signatures. (Walsh still managed to qualify to run for his seat.)
Martin had unsuccessfully pushed for reinstatement. Both planned write-in campaigns, but Brensley switched gears. While Martin campaigned for the Lt Governor seat, Brensley pursued the Secretary of State seat. No candidate was on the ballot for that position.
Martin’s campaign failed. In Southborough, only 9 write-ins were on the ballot. (At this stage, write-in names are unknown.) The candidate who did qualify to be listed for Lt Governor, Shawn Oliver received 282 votes (97% of the votes cast for a candidate.) Statewide, Oliver captured 92% of votes cast.
Under Secretary of State on the Republican primary ballot, Southborough cast 34 write-in votes. Statewide, the Globe reports that close to 39,000 write-ins were cast for candidates. Whether or not Brensley qualified to run in the general remains to be seen.1
For the US Senate race, John Deaton ran unopposed. He received support for his bid from 83% of voters on the ballot.
For the full unofficial results, click here.
