Insult to Injury
Jan. 20th, 2010 01:24 amNot only did Scott Brown just win the election to the United States Senate, he did so by a noticeably wider margin here in Wales than in the overall election.
Wales
Coakley (Dem) 244 votes 35%
Brown (Rep) 441 votes 63%
Kennedy (Ind) 15 votes 2%
Total (with all 2168 precincts reporting)
Coakley 1,058,682 votes 47%
Brown 1,168,107 votes 52%
Kennedy 22,237 votes 1%
Other towns in the immediate area reported results similar to Wales. Brown out-polled Coakley by 300 votes in Holland, 500 votes in Brimfield, and 700 votes in Monson, the three Massachusetts towns nearest to me.
Coakley pulled 79% of the vote in the much larger town of Northampton, and 84% in Amherst, Cambridge, and Provincetown. Alas, the extra 35,000+ votes she picked up in those 4 communities (58 precincts) weren't enough to stand up to the votes Brown picked up by winning tighter races across Massachusetts.
Arrgh.
The only thing I like about this election are the reports saying the turnout was surprisingly high. In any election, I value high voter turnout more than I value having my own vote be among those in the winner's column. And the fact that this special election just had better turnout than any non-presidential statewide election in 20 years tells me the result can't be blamed on/attributed to voter apathy, the lousy weather, or other factors dampening turnout.
Oh. There's one other thing I like about this election: the fact that it's over and done with. No more multiple copies of atrocious campaign mailings. No more ad after ad after ad after ad nauseum, each one repelling me from the candidate it was created to promote.
This race is over.
Onward.
Wales
Coakley (Dem) 244 votes 35%
Brown (Rep) 441 votes 63%
Kennedy (Ind) 15 votes 2%
Total (with all 2168 precincts reporting)
Coakley 1,058,682 votes 47%
Brown 1,168,107 votes 52%
Kennedy 22,237 votes 1%
Other towns in the immediate area reported results similar to Wales. Brown out-polled Coakley by 300 votes in Holland, 500 votes in Brimfield, and 700 votes in Monson, the three Massachusetts towns nearest to me.
Coakley pulled 79% of the vote in the much larger town of Northampton, and 84% in Amherst, Cambridge, and Provincetown. Alas, the extra 35,000+ votes she picked up in those 4 communities (58 precincts) weren't enough to stand up to the votes Brown picked up by winning tighter races across Massachusetts.
Arrgh.
The only thing I like about this election are the reports saying the turnout was surprisingly high. In any election, I value high voter turnout more than I value having my own vote be among those in the winner's column. And the fact that this special election just had better turnout than any non-presidential statewide election in 20 years tells me the result can't be blamed on/attributed to voter apathy, the lousy weather, or other factors dampening turnout.
Oh. There's one other thing I like about this election: the fact that it's over and done with. No more multiple copies of atrocious campaign mailings. No more ad after ad after ad after ad nauseum, each one repelling me from the candidate it was created to promote.
This race is over.
Onward.