Communities across the Commonwealth will participate in a special primary election tomorrow.
Polls open everywhere at 7 a.m. for the primary to elect a new U.S. senator to fill the seat vacated by longtime Sen. John Kerry who now serves as Secretary of State. Polls will remain open until 8 p.m. Residents must have registered to vote by April 24 to participate in the election.
The special election is set for June 25.
Southwick Town Clerk Michelle Hill is hopeful there will be big numbers at the polls, but said the reality is that people don’t usually show up for a primary.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a special election or not, people don’t come out for primaries,” she said. “I don’t know why.”
Hill, however, is hopeful.
“I’d love to see every voter come out and vote, but if we get a couple hundred I’ll have to be happy with that.”
Democratic candidates for the seat are Stephen F. Lynch, of Boston, and Edward J. Markey of Malden. Both men are congressmen. Republican candidates are Gabriel E. Gomez of Cohasset, Michael J. Sullivan of Abington, and Daniel B. Winslow of Norfolk. Gomez is a former Naval Special Warfare Lieutenant Commander. Sullivan is a Plymouth district attorney and former U.S. attorney, and Winslow is a state representative and former district court judge.
On January 30, Gov. Deval Patrick chose his former chief-of-staff William “Mo” Cowen to serve as interim U.S. senator until a special election to fill the seat.
