Mitt takes GOP
vote in area
By WESTFIELD NEWS STAFF and AP
WESTFIELD – Mitt Romney was the clear choice of area residents participating in the Republican presidential primary yesterday.
Romney, a registered Massachusetts voter, far bested his fellow Republican presidential hopefuls in a state that he governed for four years and that the other GOP candidates all but conceded.
Romney handily beat Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, who put little money or effort into trying to deny him a victory, outdistancing his rivals in the primary election that drew a low voter turnout.
In Westfield, 11.26 percent of citizens eligible to vote exercised that right. Romney garnered 1,299, or 62 percent of the GOB ballots cast, while Rick Santorum collected 372 votes for 17 percent and Ron Paul received 226 votes for 11 percent. Newt Gingrich garnered 158 votes for 7 percent of the ballots cast
Romney returned to the state for the first time in months to cast his ballot at a senior center in Belmont, where he and his wife, Ann Romney, own a condominium and raised their family.
“It’s great to be back home,” Mitt Romney told reporters after voting.
Romney said it had been “a couple of months” since he’d been in Massachusetts and he was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed.
In Granville, voters followed the trend by electing Mitt Romney. Town Clerk Ann Sussmann said Romney received 106 votes. Trailing far behind in second place was Santorum with 27 votes. Gingrich received 25 votes, Paul received 21, and Perry received 3.
“It was a very quiet day,” said Sussmann, noting that just 200 of the town’s 1,144 registered voters came to the polls. Of those, 17 took out a Democratic ballot, and 183 took Republican ballots.
In Tolland, 95 of the town’s 351 registered voters cast ballots. Ten took Democratic ballots and voted for Obama. On the Republican side, 42 votes were cast for Romney, 17 for Santorum, 14 for Paul, 5 for Gingrich and 2 for Michele Bachman.
Southwick Town Clerk Michelle Hill said 14 percent of voters turned out for yesterday’s primary.
“We had 881 voters come out yesterday, and we have 6,201 registered voters,” said Hill, adding that was “typical” for a primary.
Romney was the big winner in the Republican race with 453 votes. Santorum followed with 175 votes, and Gingrich received 58 votes. There were 50 votes cast for Paul.
Hill said very few voters took Democratic ballots yesterday at the town’s three precincts, all located in Town Hall.
“One precinct had 42, another had 41 and the third had 43,” she said.
In Huntington, Romney received 76 votes, Santorum received 41, Paul received 29 votes, and 16 votes were cast for Gingrich.
Russell voters cast 52 votes for Romney and 22 for Santorum. Paul received one vote and four votes were cast for Gingrich.
Democrats, who comprised only 20 percent of the 2,620 citizens casting primary ballots, strongly support President Barack Obama, who as the incumbent is running unopposed. Obama took 402 ballots cast by the 525 cast by Democrats voting yesterday.
