Markey Sweeps Away Kennedy In Dems US Senate Primary; Rogers Defeats Fries For State Rep Seat

Photo: A voter using the town’s drop box to cast her ballot in Belmont, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020.

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to upend the way elections are conducted – with the greater use of mail-in ballots and dropping off votes to the town’s drop box – it took a bit longer to calculate and report the results of the 2020 state primary held on Sept. 1.

But at approximately 10 p.m., Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman could announce the unofficial results for the primaries held by four political parties on Tuesday. (The ballots of residents living overseas and in the military remain to be counted to make the count official)

And despite it all, just about half of registered voters (48.6 percent or 8,741 of 17,991) cast ballots at the town’s eight precincts, via the mail box and taking advantage of a week of early voting.

In the most watched state-wide race, Belmont gave incumbent US Sen. Ed Markey a resounding victory, defeating Fifth District US Rep. Joe Kennedy III by a wide three-to-one margin in the Town of Homes, 5,948 to 2,009. Markey’s 74.8 percent of the vote was one of the largest percentage results in the state with the likes of Amherst (81 percent), Cambridge and Somerville (80 percent), Northampton (78 percent) and Arlington and Lexington (76 percent).

Markey retained his seat for another six year term winning comfortably statewide with 55.5 percent of the vote compared to Kennedy’s 44.5 percent.

In November’s general election, Markey will face Republican Kevin O’Connor who defeated Belmont resident Shiva Ayyadurai, 60 percent to 40 percent, in statewide voting. The Snake Hill Road resident did take the majority of ballots cast in his hometown, 400 to 325.

In the local reps race, incumbent Dave Rogers retained his seat on Beacon Hill as he defeated Cambridge newcomer Jennifer Fries. With 87 percent of the votes tabulated, Rogers received 6,753 (59.5 percent) of the district-wide vote compared to Fries’ 4,593 (40.5 percent). Only Cambridge’s vote have yet to be announced.

The four-term representative of the 24th Middlesex district – comprised of Belmont and precincts in Arlington and east Cambridge – Rogers took 4,379 (60.3 percent) of the votes cast in Belmont compared with 2,872 for Fries (39.5 percent).