Harvard voters were few in number in the Special State Election for the 37th Middlesex District’s new state representative, but they were clear in their preference for Democrat Dan Sena over Republican Cathy Clark. Sena posted an almost 4-to-1 victory here, with 786 votes to Clark’s 196 in preliminary totals posted by Town Clerk Marlene Kenney.
Across the district, Sena won with 4,226 votes, or about 74% of ballots cast, to Clark’s 1,471. Clark won only in her hometown of Lunenburg. Sena captured the other five towns in the district.
Harvard voters also showed a clear preference for voting remotely. Of the 985 ballots cast, 713 were either absentee ballots or early ballots. Only 272 residents ventured out to vote in person Tuesday at the Bromfield School cafeteria, and those who did found no lines and plenty of safety measures.
Overall, only 22% of Harvard’s 4,360 registered voters cast ballots in this election, far lower than the town’s usual turnout.
Sena has been elected to fill the remaining months of former state Rep. Jen Benson’s term, so he will have to run for reelection in November. Clark has said she also expects to run again in November.
For a firsthand account of what it was like to vote in person at the Bromfield School under COVID-19 rules, see “Voting in a time of unease and disease.”
Lucy McQuilken and Chuck Agosta (far right) stop to talk to (from left) Select Board member Stu Sklar, State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, candidate for state representative Dan Sena, and Bob Ferrara before the pair head into the polls to vote Tuesday, June 2. Sena went on to win the seat vacated by Jen Benson. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
