State Election Follows Familiar Script
Polls in Waltham were busy Tuesday, but did fewer turn out because the results were so predictable?
As expected, Democratic incumbents (Elizabeth Warren, Katherine Clark, Mike Barrett, John Lawn) won in Waltham Tuesday, with many running unopposed.
Democratic State Rep. Tom Stanley, who has represented the 9th Middlesex District since 2001, crushed two newcomers on Tuesday, according to unofficial results.
Rep. Stanley (13,262 votes) won 72% of the vote in a race against Republican Carly Downs (3,794) and Independent Sean Diamond (1,205), both running for the first time.
The 9th Middlesex District includes most, but not all, of Waltham.
On keenly watched ballot questions, Waltham appeared to mirror statewide results, with wins going to whichever side spent the most.
Waltham voted to end the MCAS high school graduation requirement, choosing Yes on 2 by a comfortable margin over No on 2 (14,944 votes to 10,628), according to unofficial results.
Waltham voters also rejected ballot Question 5, which would have raised the minimum wage for tipped workers. The margin was 14,827 votes to 10,264.
In the U.S, presidential race, Democrat Kamala Harris won roughly ⅔ of the vote in Waltham, easily beating Republican Donald Trump, who earned less than ⅓.
70% of Waltham’s 37,860 registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s state election.
It represented a drop from 80% Waltham turnout in 2020, during the last election with a presidential race. In 2016, turnout was 77%.
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