Nearly a third of Harvard’s registered voters headed to the Bromfield School cafeteria Tuesday to vote in the post-Labor Day 2018 State Primary, where they cast ballots to choose the Republican and Democratic candidates and one Libertarian who will compete for 14 state and congressional offices in November.
Of the 1,477 ballots cast, a majority, 76 percent, were Democratic. Harvard voters chose Daniel Koh over nine other candidates to compete this fall for the Massachusetts Third Congressional District seat left vacant by the retiring Niki Tsongas. District-wide, Lori Trahan of Westford led Andover native Koh by fewer than 52 votes at Press deadline. Harvard voters also picked Jay Gonzalez over Bob Massie, 560-333, to oppose popular Republican incumbent Gov. Charlie Baker.
Harvard’s incumbent state Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Rep. Jennifer Benson, both Democrats, were unopposed in their races; both will appear as the Democratic nominees for their respective positions on the November ballot. Eldridge will face Republican Margaret Busse, while Bensen will run unopposed.
The 342 voters who took part in the Republican primary chose Trump supporter Geoff Diehl by a narrow 139-136 margin over Beth Lindstrom to run against incumbent Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren. In the governor’s race, Baker easily fought off Scott Lively, 244-93, for the top spot on the Republican state ticket. Rick Green was the sole Republican candidate for the Third District seat.
Six voters took part in the Libertarian primary, whose ballot contained the name of a single candidate, Daniel Fisher, who is running for state auditor.
Primary day was sunny, warm, and muggy, with the temperature hovering in the mid-80s. A line was waiting outside the Bromfield cafeteria when poll workers opened its doors at 7 a.m. Voters appeared to have no problem navigating the counterclockwise maze necessitated by a changed entry and exit to isolate election activities from those of the school, which was in regular session. Supporters of Lori Trahan and Juana Matias held signs throughout the day and into the evening, in spite of the heat and, after sunset, the mosquitos. Voters were still arriving after 7 p.m.; the last voter entered the cafeteria at 7:56 p.m. Workers had counted absentee ballots during the day, but results were not posted until well after 11 p.m.
Third District a squeaker
With 10 candidates vying for the position, the Democratic race for the Third Congressional District was the nail-biter of the evening. On Wednesday morning, 12 hours after the polls had closed and with 100 percent of the vote counted, Trahan of Westford led Andover native Koh by a mere 52 votes, according to Secretary of State William Galvin, who ordered the ballots impounded. Shortly before midnight, Trahan had declared herself the winner, but the Associated Press and others showed conflicting results and Koh was refusing to concede. Juana Matias had surged unexpectedly into third place in the district, with Rufus Gifford and Barbara L’Italien, who had advertised heavily in Harvard, trailing in fourth and fifth place. Gifford had been endorsed by Rep. Benson, and L’Italian by Sen. Eldridge. Both conceded earlier in the evening.
The Third District encompasses 37 cities and towns, including Lowell and Lawrence to the north, Gardner and Winchendon to the west, Hudson to the south, Concord to the east, and Harvard just about in the middle. The remaining towns in the district “must be using an abacus to count their votes,” groused a Twitter commentator Wednesday morning, as he awaited the final result.
Details of all races can be found below and at the town website.
