Somerville Votes for Markey and Gomez as Both Candidates Win Primaries

92 percent of Somerville voters cast ballots in the Democratic primary.

Somerville voters chose Rep. Ed Markey, a Democrat, and former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez, a Republican, in Tuesday's special primary for U.S. Senate. Voters in the rest of the state concurred, as both candidates will face off against each other in a special election on June 25. In Somerville, Markey earned 75 percent of the vote while his Democratic primary opponent, Rep. Stephen Lynch, took 24 percent of the vote. Markey had 6,587 votes and Lynch had 2,120 votes, according to unofficial results from the Somerville Election Department. On the Republican side, Gomez received 47 percent of the vote in Somerville. His primary opponents, former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan and State Rep. Dan Winslow received 35 percent and 17 percent of the …

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Lynch Bashes Party Bosses for Backing Markey

The Boston Herald reported that Lynch said party leaders are discouraging people from donating to his campaign.

U.S. Rep. and Senate candidate Stephen Lynch (D-Boston) took aim at his party leaders for getting behind U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Malden) in the primary fight, reported the Boston Herald. “They haven’t been fair,” Lynch told the Herald about the Democratic leaders. “No they haven’t been fair. I think they’ve done their best to discourage people from sending me contributions from Washington. They’ve basically said Markey’s our guy, don’t give to Lynch.”  Lynch faces an uphill battle as the party bosses have backed the Malden Democrat. A recent WBUR poll found that Markey has a 11-point lead over Lynch (35 percent to 24 percent). The two men square off on April 30 in the Democratic primary to replace former Sen. John Kerry. Read the full …

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Lynch and Markey Spar Over Health Care, Bank Bailouts

GOP and Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate debated Wednesday night at the Channel 5 studios in Needham.

In the days leading up to the first Democratic U.S. Senate debate, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston) has been called upon frequently to explain the vote he took against the health care reform bill in 2010. Wednesday night, Lynch and U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Malden) went several rounds on the topic. They faced-off for 30 minutes at the Channel 5 studios in Needham following a contest among the three declared Republican candidates. For Markey, President Obama's initiative, aimed at universal health care coverage, was "the proudest vote of my career." "Steve, when that vote came up you were wrong," Markey said. For Lynch, taxes and a lopsided deal for insurance companies were among the problems that outweighted benefits such as the …

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Markey, Sullivan Leading New WBUR Senate Poll

Over 40 percent of likely voters in both primaries yet to make up their minds for the special election.

Rep. Edward Markey and former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan are leading their respective Democratic and Republican primary fields in the upcoming U.S. Senate special election, according to a new WBUR poll. Markey, a Malden Democrat, has an 11-point edge (35 percent to 24 percent) over fellow Rep. Stephen Lynch of South Boston. Sullivan, of Abington, leads the Republican candidates with 28 percent, followed by Norfolk State Rep. Dan Winslow at 10 percent and former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez of Cohasset with 8 percent. Both races have a high number of undecided voters. According to the poll, 41 percent of likely Democratic voters have not made up their minds. That number is even bigger among likely GOP voters, where 46 percent are undecided…

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GOP Senate Candidates Discuss Economy, Social Security, Immigration at Stonehill College Debate

State Rep. Daniel Winslow, former U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, and former Navy SEAL Gabriel E. Gomez discussed a wide-range of issues in the hour-long debate.

The quest to become the "Washington outsider" representing the Republican Party in this year's Massachusetts special Senate election was underway at Stonehill College Tuesday night when GOP candidates met in their first primary debate. "Electing either of the Democratic nominees would be a sign of 'surrender' that we have given up," State Rep. Daniel B. Winslow (R-Norfolk) said in his closing statement referring Rep. Ed Markey (D-Malden) and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston). Winslow, former U.S. attorney Michael J. Sullivan, and former Navy SEAL Gabriel E. Gomez discussed a wide-range of issues in the hour-long debate, including Roe vs. Wade, gun control, immigration, social security, and the economy. The debate was sponsored by …

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GOP Senate Candidates to Debate in Easton

The forum is set for Tuesday at Stonehill College.

The three GOP candidates for U.S. Senate will face off for the first time on Tuesday, March 12, in Easton, according to the Boston Globe. State Rep. Dan Winslow (R-Norfolk), former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan and former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez will participate in an hour-long forum starting at 7 p.m. at Stonehill College. The debate will be live-streamed on WCVB-TV’s website. The three candidates are vying for the Republican nomination in the April 30 primary. The winner will take on the winner of the Stephen Lynch-Edward Markey battle on the Democratic side of the ballot. PREVIOUSLY ON SOMERVILLE PATCH:

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Five Submit Required Signatures for U.S. Senate Race

Two Democrats and three Republicans submitted the needed 10,000 names.

Two Democrats and three Republicans submitted the required number of signatures to run in the special election for U.S. Senate, according to the Boston Globe. U.S. Reps. Edward Markey (D-Malden) and Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston) each filed more than double the 10,000 certified signatures required. Markey led the way with nearly 34,000 signatures, while Lynch had just over 25,000. On the Republican side, former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan filed nearly 19,000 signatures, followed by former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez of Cohasset with almost 17,000 and state Rep. Daniel Winslow of Norfolk with more than 13,000. Those totals only include those signatures submitted to the Secretary of State's office by Wednesday's 5 p.m. deadline. City and town…

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You Ask, Patch Answers

You Ask, Patch Answers: Cost to Somerville of Upcoming Special Election

With a primary on April 30 and a final election on June 25, Somerville gets ready for a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by John Kerry.

With a special election scheduled this spring to fill the Senate seat formerly occupied by Secretary of State John Kerry, local election departments across the state are scrambling to organize. Some have asked how much the special election will cost Somerville. I asked Jackie Rossetti, a city spokesperson, who forwarded some email questions to the Somerville election department about the matter. The election department said special elections cost the city about $65,000 a day. So, with a primary scheduled for April 30 and the state election scheduled for June 25, this year's special election will cost Somerville about $130,000. That money pays for things like staffing the polls, police details, supplies, programming computers and …

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