Voters in the nine communities surrounding Lynn had their own blue wave Tuesday night, heavily favoring former Vice President Joe Biden over President Donald Trump.
The voters also fell in line with the rest of the state, with sweeping majorities for Senator Edward Markey over Republican challenger Kevin O’Connor; and Congressman Seth Moulton over his Republican challenger, John Paul Moran.
The communities of Lynn, Nahant, Swampscott, Saugus, Revere, Marblehead, Peabody, Lynnfield and Salem voted 102,406 to 53,895 for Biden; 104,668 to 49,115 for Markey, and 86,315 to 41,301 in favor of Moulton, who does not represent Revere in Congress. Revere overwhelmingly supported incumbent Democrat Katherine Clark over her challenger, Caroline Colarusso, 12,599 to 5,931.
All results are unofficial until certified by the Massachusetts Secretary of State.
In Lynn, with a 62.7 percent turnout, the Biden/Kamala Harris ticket netted more than twice as many votes as Trump/Mike Pence. Of the 34,976 residents who cast a ballot for president, 24,123 voted for Biden, 10,191 for Trump, and another 530 people opted to vote for one of the two third-party candidates.
Lynn also overwhelmingly preferred Markey, who received 25,111 votes, which almost tripled the 8,781 votes O’Connor received.
Moulton, a Salem Democrat, won Lynn by a landslide. He received 25,031 votes, which far surpassed the 8,439 votes cast for Moran.
State Sen. Brendan Crighton, a Lynn resident and Democrat who was running unopposed in the 3rd Essex District, received 27,742 votes, while State Rep. Lori Ehrlich, a Marblehead resident and Democrat running unopposed in the 8th Essex District, received 2,241 votes in Lynn.
In other races involving Lynn office-holders, Republican State Rep. Donald Wong, of Saugus, who represents a part of Lynn, ran unopposed in the 9th Essex District, and received 2,841 votes; Democratic State Rep. Daniel Cahill, of Lynn, ran unopposed in the 10th Essex District and received 12,248 votes; and Democratic State Rep. Peter Capano, of Lynn, who also represents Nahant, ran unopposed in the 11th Essex District, and received 10,617 votes.
Lynn voted in favor of Question 1, which allows car owners to access and share data generated by the operation of the vehicle with independent repair shops, 23,858 to 8,986, but voted against Question 2, which would create a system of ranked-choice voting, 17,200 to 14,659.
Traditionally-Republican Lynnfield served up an election surprise with town voters picking Biden (4,162 votes) over Trump (3,949). Markey received 4,178 to 3,902 votes for O’Connor. Moulton won the town 4,380 to 3,674. Question 1 won 5,958 to 2,096 and Question 2 lost 5,387 to 2,478.
Unopposed incumbents tallied votes, with Governor’s Councilor Terrence Kennedy receiving 5,672 votes in Lynnfield; Crighton receiving 1,082 Lynnfield votes and Register of Probate Pamela Casey O’Brien receiving 4,694 votes.
Councilor Eileen R. Duff received 21,305 votes in Peabody; state Sen. Joan B. Lovely received 21,668 votes, and state Rep. Thomas P. Walsh received 17,539 votes with Casey O’Brien getting 18,272 votes.
State Rep. Bradley H. Jones Jr., top Republican in the Massachusetts House, easily beat back a challenge from North Reading Democrat Michelle Mullet.
Also a North Reading resident, Jones won the town 6,335 to 2,948 and won Reading, 4,285 to 3,070. Jones received 1,665 votes to Mullet’s 977 in Middleton and he won all four Lynnfield precincts, 5,117 to 2,748.
First elected to the House of Representatives in 1994, Jones has served as House Minority Leader since 2003.
With an endorsement from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Mullet championed the Green New Deal. Mullet, a journalist, described herself in campaign literature as “a mom, a writer, an environmental advocate and an active member of the North Reading community, where she and her husband are raising their two children.”
Marblehead went heavily blue. Biden had a 10,089 to 3,777 advantage over Trump, Markey topped O’Connor, 9,592 to 4,324 and Moulton had a huge margin over Moran, 10,253 to 3,740.
Nahant Town Clerk Diane Dunfee reported the town had a stunning 88 percent turnout at this year’s polls, with an unofficial count of 2,496 ballots cast out of 2,849 registered voters.
The breakdown leaned largely Democratic, with unofficial numbers showing Biden took the lead by a wide margin at 1,599 votes, while Trump pulled in 838.
Thirty-six residents voted for one of two third-party presidential candidates, and 23 chose to write-in candidates or leave the section blank entirely.
In an almost identical breakdown, Markey received 1,587 votes, while O’Connor received 832. Sixty-eight residents chose to write in a candidate or leave the section blank.
Similar patterns also showed among Nahant residents in local races, notably with Moulton receiving 1,678 votes, 931 more than Moran’s 747. Seventy-six voters opted to leave the section blank or enter write-in candidates.
Danvers resident Sally P. Kerans won her hometown by a landslide in a victory over Republican Robert E. May of Peabody with a final tally of 7,993 to 4,605, to send her back to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where she represented the 13th Essex District in the 1990s.
Kerans, a Democrat, faced off against three other Danvers candidates and Peabody first-time candidate and Republican May, who won city precincts in Peabody, 2,383 to 1,209.
Peabody residents picked Biden over Trump in presidential balloting, 16,826 to 12,688. Markey received 17,521 votes to 11,767 for O’Connor.
Moulton received 18,127 votes to 11,102 for Moran in Peabody.
In Peabody Ward 5, Kerans received 612 votes and May received 699. In Ward 6, Kerans received 697 votes and May got 985 votes.
In Salem, City Clerk Ilene Simons reported that things went smoothly during election day in Salem.
“I was happy that everyone was civilized and respectful,” she said. “I can’t say enough for all the people who came out to help.”
Salem went heavily for Biden, 17,786 votes to 5,382. Salem also preferred Markey, who took the city in a landslide with 17,915 to his O’Connor’s 5,316. Moulton posted an even stronger performance in the witch city, with 18,173 votes to Moran’s 4,953.
State Representative Paul Tucker ran unopposed and received 19,578 votes.
Salem residents overwhelmingly supported Question 1, 17,769 to 4,942 and narrowly supported Question 2, 11,835 to 10,759.
Seventy-four percent of registered Salem voters cast their ballots in one form of another.
“We became a part of history,” said Simons. “We managed to have an election during COVID. Nobody else has ever done that before.”
Generally red-leaning Saugus saw a surprisingly close call this election, with Biden winning a marginal lead over Trump at 7,722 votes to 7,349.
Not long after polls closed at 8 p.m., numbers provided by Town Clerk Ellen Schena showed more decisive local calls by voters, who favored Moulton over Moran, 8,280 to 6,229.
Markey was also favored by Saugus voters, winning 8,242 votes over O’Connor, who pulled in 6,494.
According to Schena, 15,415 of 20,278 registered Saugus voters cast their ballots in the 2020 Presidential Election — a healthy 76 percent voter turnout.
In a statement provided to The Item, Schena thanked the town’s election workers — including high school volunteers — in all 10 precincts, who she said “stepped up” for the community.
“To the Board of Registrars, Saugus Police, and to my staff in the Clerk’s office, I humbly thank you for a job well done,” she said. “To the Saugus community, thank you for your patience and support. God bless.”
In Swampscott, 11,804 total voters (82 percent of all registered voters) cast their ballot this year. In the presidential race, Biden won easily receiving 6,816 to Trump’s 2,540.
Markey was selected by 6,675 voters while O’Connor received 2,667. Moulton took Swampscott in a landslide, defeating Moran 6,906 to 2,422.
Everything went well for the most part for town clerk Susan J. Duplin, even if counting up early votes proved to have its own challenges.
“Everything went smoothly,” Duplin said. “But adding up the early ballots, it took us 12 hours to complete. A lot of them were folded up like accordions and were hard to get into the machine but we got it done.”
Swampscott residents voted in favor of Question 1 by 7,055 to 2,126, while opposing Question 2 by 4,352 to 2,748.