Central Mass. upholds reputation as increasingly red

 By Brad Petrishen
Telegram & Gazette Staff

The political map of Massachusetts after Tuesday’s presidential election mirrors that of America – red in the middle.

Continuing a years-long trend, voters in Central Massachusetts voted more Republican than most areas of the state. Though nationally defeated Democrat Hillary R. Clinton won Central Massachusetts, she did so by a considerably smaller margin than the rest of the Bay State.

Mrs. Clinton edged GOP President-elect Donald J. Trump 52 percent to 42 percent here. That 10-point difference is far tighter than the nearly 28-point gap statewide.

Mr. Trump won 41 of the 70 municipalities in Central Massachusetts, with a high mark in East Brookfield, where he garnered 57 percent of the vote, and a low point of 25 percent in Harvard.
If one subtracts the blue dot of Democrat-laden Worcester – where Mrs. Clinton won by 39 points – Central Massachusetts gave Mrs. Clinton the nod 49 percent to 44 percent.

Several towns that voted for President Barack Obama in 2012 opted for Mr. Trump in 2016, including Millbury, Leicester, West Brookfield, New Braintree, Barre, Templeton, Ashburnham, Winchendon, Royalston, Athol and Orange. (This paragraph has been corrected. Hudson sided with Hillary Clinton.)

Mrs. Clinton won the following towns that in 2012 backed GOP nominee Mitt Romney: Sturbridge, Upton, Boylston, West Boylston, Holden, Paxton, Lunenburg and Lancaster. She did best in Harvard, which gave her 69 percent.

As the T&G reported Monday, though Mrs. Clinton outraised Mr. Trump 11-to-1 statewide, she did so less than 4-to-1 in Central Massachusetts; voters here gave Mr. Trump nearly 10 percent of his statewide tally, while accounting for just 3 percent of Mrs. Clinton's.

Former Worcester mayor and Democratic operative Joseph C. O’Brien said Wednesday that the vote tallies played out about as he thought they would in Worcester County.

“Hillary’s performance is fairly similar to Obama’s in 2012,” he said, and better in some towns.

Mr. O’Brien advised against painting Central Massachusetts with a broad brush; although it is waxing Republican overall – particularly to the south and west – there are Democratic strongholds in Worcester and points northeast, he noted.

“I was actually surprised at how well Hillary did in the county,” he said, adding that, in general, the higher-educated, more well-to-do towns like the boroughs tend to vote Democrat.

Mr. O’Brien said the Central Massachusetts presidential vote appears reflective of anger against Democrats, both nationally and in the state.


“Clearly, when you look at national data, white, working-class families have trended toward the Republican party,” he said, partly because they feel left behind by the economy.

“We’re seeing that play out, I think, in Central Massachusetts,” he said, particularly in economically struggling areas where manufacturing jobs have evaporated.

The news wasn’t all bad for local Democrats Tuesday; all of their incumbents won and they retained the 4th Worcester District and 10th Worcester District House seats, both of which were up for grabs after Democrats left.

Yet those victories likely did little to lift spirits of Democrats following Mr. Trump’s stinging triumph. Instead of a Republican party in shambles as many predicted, it was the Democrats who found themselves in shock Wednesday as they stared bleary eyed at the reality of a GOP-controlled White House and Congress.

“Let me be clear,” state Attorney General Maura T. Healey wrote in an email to Democrat supporters Wednesday. “I will forcefully oppose any effort by (Mr. Trump) or Congress or anyone else to roll back the progress we’ve made under President Obama.” She said she understood many in the state may be fearful for their rights and safety.

The Massachusetts GOP, meanwhile, is touting local success.

"Our party is on the rise in Massachusetts," MassGOP Chairman Kirsten Hughes said in a news release Wednesday. "For the first time in more than 30 years, the MassGOP has increased our numbers in the Legislature in a presidential year.”

In an interview Wednesday, Ms. Hughes said the GOP was happy with its showing in Worcester County, particularly with state Rep. Kate D. Campanale’s defense of her 17th Worcester District.
“Love it out there. Love it out there,” Ms. Hughes said. “Worcester County is increasingly going redder and redder with every cycle, and I think a lot of that is because people see good Republican leaders in that area.”

Republican Worcester County Sheriff Lewis G. Evangelidis - who retained his seat unopposed Tuesday – said he also saw Ms. Campanale’s race as significant.

In presidential election years, Republicans often lose seats, he noted, then generally hope to win them back in gubernatorial cycles.

“For me, (the Campanale race) was a litmus test of the Republican Party’s ability to hold seats in Worcester County,” he said.

Like Mr. O’Brien, though, Mr. Evangelidis cautioned against labeling the county as a GOP fortress. He said in his view, its array of unenrolled voters are more independent-minded than anything else.

“It doesn’t matter what party, it’s more about the message and the campaign,” Mr. Evangelidis said. “Any good candidate has a chance here.”

Still, the sheriff noted there isn’t a place he’d rather be on the ballot than Worcester County. And with $240,000 in his campaign coffers, a bid for higher office would appear to be within reach, though he headed off such a suggestion Wednesday.

“I do have people very kindly tell me they hope I will consider running for higher office,” he said. “(But) I love this job. I’m just so honored and grateful to be given an opportunity for a second term, and that’s where I’m focused right now.”

For her part, Ms. Hughes said she’d welcome higher aspirations for the sheriff and other GOP politicians in the county.

“I think it’s a great model for the rest of the state, and I also think it’s an opportunity for us to get some really great legislators and build a really great farm team,” she said.

While Tuesday was certainly a good night to be Republican, it was not all roses for the state GOP or Gov. Charles D. Baker Jr. Voters statewide bucked his suggestions to lift the charter school cap and keep marijuana illegal; Central Massachusetts did, too, with every single town voting against raising the cap and all but 11 approving marijuana.

Mr. Baker also left blank his vote for president after declining to support Mr. Trump months ago. But Ms. Hughes said she’s confident Mr. Trump won’t hold it against him.

“Governing is different than getting elected, and I think you will see the Trump team recognize that,” she said, noting that a tall task of fence-mending looms.

Indeed, while Republicans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday, it's not as if divisions in the party or the country have evaporated.

“We have a great country, but we have the wrong leaders,” said Bruce Towner of Barre, who switched his registration from Republican to unenrolled this election cycle in disapproval of how GOP leaders treated Mr. Trump.

“They badgered him,” Mr. Towner said. “I know he’s a little rough around the edges, but he’s telling the truth.”

Mr. Towner, a 59-year old disabled former machinist who said he donated to Mr. Trump despite being on a fixed income, said he believes Mr. Trump’s heart is in the right place.

“He’s saying, ‘The people in this country first,’” he said. “And that’s the way it should be.”

Mr. O'Brien said whether or not politicians agree with Mr. Trump's populist message, ignoring it is not an option.

"The people have spoken," he said. "They've said they want to move in a different direction."

Only time will tell just where that direction leads.