Tiny Aquinnah, Cambridge were strongholds for Obama

November 5, 2008 03:57 PM Email| Comments (9)| Text size – +

McCain won in the red communities. They were few and far between.

By Casey Ramsdell, Globe Correspondent, and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The tiny town of Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard took the prize for being the biggest stronghold for presidential candidate Barack Obama in Massachusetts, with 90 percent of the 311 voters there casting a ballot for the Democrat who will be America’s first black president.

“It was not unexpected for me, as the clerk, that it would be that way,” said Carolyn Feltz, the town clerk. She said Aquinnah was a "politically liberal town."

With only 15 Republicans among the town's 398 registered voters, "You don't have to be a genius" to know which way the community will vote, she said. McCain actually got 26 votes, she said, meaning that McCain had wooed some voters away from the Democrats, unenrolled, and other parties.

Other communities that came out overwhelmingly for Obama included Cambridge (88 percent), Provincetown (88 percent), Amherst (87 percent), Shutesbury (85 percent), and Pelham (85 percent).

McCain only won 48 communities, according to unofficial returns from 349 of the state's 351 cities and towns. A map showing who won in each town is a sea of blue with just a few patches of red.

The town of East Brookfield provided the biggest margin for the Arizona senator, giving him 56 percent of the votes. It was followed by Lynnfield (55 percent), Lakeville (54 percent), and Hanover (54 percent).

» Back to Front Page

9 comments so far...

Please tell me someone is investigating voter fraud in Wilmington. The numbers are ridiculously skewed from past elections and when you look in depth at them either 3,679 people in Wilmington decided not to vote in the presidential election after voting in the senate election or 3,679 votes were lost.

Posted by Scott November 5, 08 03:10 PM

The Globe's election results data for Wilmington is wrong. I checked www.wickedlocal.com under Wilmington:

"In Wilmington, voters have sided with Republican Presidential nominee John McCain with a total 5,923 votes, over Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s 5,812 votes, for a difference of only 111 votes."

This 75% percent for McCain stuck out like a sore thumb. That's why I checked. You'd think a Globe writer would have done the same.

Posted by Hank Hamilton November 5, 08 03:24 PM

Can anyone give a real explanation as to why Wilmington was such a strong McCain town?

Posted by tony November 5, 08 03:41 PM

Looks like the Globe has already fixed the table and interactive map, but not the map shown on this blog page. That lone bright red town should have been a tip-off to someone that the data were wrong.

Posted by Ron Newman November 5, 08 04:56 PM

"Can anyone give a real explanation as to why Wilmington was such a strong McCain town?"

I think the guys from WEEI live there to be near their hockey gods.

Posted by schmatzy November 5, 08 04:58 PM

Figures that Hanover went for McCain.

That town is the epitome of reactionary ignorance

Posted by Nathan Hale November 5, 08 05:07 PM

Get it straight. First half white and half black individual. Not BLACK.

Posted by Donald November 5, 08 05:30 PM

What's the point of this article? If it said that Cambridge, P-Town , Amherst, and the other liberal towns I've never heard of voted for McCain, then it would be worth reading.

Posted by Drew November 5, 08 06:00 PM

Donald, as much as you may be literally correct, there are legal definitions of race. Think to when you last filled out a job application, tax return, etc.

Posted by Ryan November 5, 08 06:38 PM