Massachusetts voters did their job: swimming through the blistering heat to vote in the US Senate special election. Now the polls have closed and the tally has begun that will determine who won — veteran Democratic US Representative Edward J. Markey or Republican businessman Gabriel E. Gomez.
Polling places around the state closed at 8 p.m.
Markey, 66, and Gomez, 47, battled through an abbreviated election season that finished in a heat wave to fill the seat that Democrat John F. Kerry left vacant when President Obama picked him to be US secretary of state in December.
Markey, who has served nearly 37 years in Congress, sought to portray Gomez as too conservative for Massachusetts. Gomez, who has never held elected office, described himself as a “new kind of Republican†who would reach across the aisle in a gridlocked Washington.
Gomez faced an uphill battle in the traditionally blue Bay State against a formidable Democratic political operation. Party leaders had vowed never to be beaten again after the humiliating defeat in January 2010 when little-known Republican Scott Brown won the US Senate seat left vacant by the death of liberal icon Edward M. Kennedy. Gomez trailed Markey in several polls heading to Election Day.
The Markey-Gomez race was an anomaly for Massachusetts, which has a rich history of spirited Senate races with big, clashing personalities and sharp arguments about the issues.
The race struggled to gain public attention. First, a number of high-profile names dropped out of the race, including Brown, who lost a reelection battle in November to Democrat Elizabeth Warren. Then, other news events grabbed the media’s attention, including the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15.
Early on, some observers even suggested Bay State voters had a case of election fatigue, with tonight’s election the third US Senate race in just over three years.
Not surprisingly, given the challenges, turnout today appeared to be lackluster. Secretary of State William F. Galvin predicted record low voting numbers statewide, perhaps about 37 percent. By 6 p.m., only about 18 percent of voters had turned out in Boston.
In Ward 3, Precinct 3, in Somerville, Adena Schutzberg, a 49-year-old consultant leaving the polls on her bicycle, said, “The election was really annoying. Neither of these gentlemen said anything that changed my plan to vote. I really want this to be over.â€
She voted for Markey, favoring his record and political alignment, if not exactly electrified by his vision or personality. “I’m a Democrat through and through,†she said.
Jim Dolan, a rare Republican in the precinct, wore a GOP elephant-print tie that he had picked up, incongruously, at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum in Atlanta.
“I’m nervous. I’m supporting Gabriel Gomez today. Polls don’t look good, but I’m hoping for a late surge,†said Dolan, a 29-year-old economic development executive. “Ed Markey’s been in Congress for 37 years. It’s time for a change.â€
Eric Moskowitz of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
