Braintree Bucks State Trend, Goes for Lynch in Landslide

Braintree voters turned out not in droves but in higher numbers than expected for Tuesday's U.S. Senate contest, giving Rep. Stephen Lynch 81 percent of ballots in the local Democratic primary to Rep. Ed Markey's 18.5 percent.

Lynch, whose Congressional district includes Braintree, lost statewide to Markey 43 percent to 57 percent, according to the Boston Globe. Markey will face former Navy Seal Gabriel Gomez in the general election June 25.

Former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan sneaked out a victory in the Republican primary in Braintree, taking 47 percent of 1,264 ballots cast, to Gomez's 44 percent and state Rep. Dan Winslow's 8 percent.

Local vote totals and percentages are unofficial. Town Clerk Joe Powers said that provisional and other ballots could move the numbers somewhat, but not significantly.

Statewide, Gomez led the GOP pack. He had 51 percent to Sullivan's 36 percent and Winslow's 13 percent, the Globe reported Tuesday night.

Of Braintree's 25,017 registered voters, 27 percent or 6,778 cast ballots. That was slightly higher than Powers' prediction of 26 percent and meant that more voters came out during the second half of the day, as the midday turnout number was 12 percent.

All registered voters can participate in the June 25 general election to fill the seat left vacant by Secretary of State John Kerry. The voter registration deadline for that is 8 p.m. on June 5.

This article has been updated to reflect called races.