The North End/Waterfront neighborhood favored Democrat Martha Coakley with 54% of the vote compared to 45% for Republican winner Scott Brown in the special election for U.S. Senate last Tuesday. But this result shows a significant shift to the Republican ticket compared to previous elections.
Here is a breakdown of the North End/Waterfront statistics:
Votes for Scott Brown: 2,327 (45%)
Votes for Martha Coakley: 2,761 (54%)
Votes for Joe Kennedy: 39 (1%)
Total Votes: 5,127
Registered voters: 10,889
Turnout: 47%
Bob LeLievre shows an analysis of how each Boston neighborhood voted and the trends from past elections. Coakley won Boston with 69% of the vote but lost the State with only 47%, a 6 point laggard to Brown’s 53%.
The North End/Waterfront is a Democratic neighborhood, but less so than Boston overall. In the neighborhood there are 45% registered Democrats, 13% Republican and 41% other (vs. 56%, 7%, 37% for Boston, respectively).
Compared to the 54% that voted for Martha Coakley, recent elections for the North End/Waterfront neighborhood precincts show:
69% voted for Democrat Barak Obama in the 2008 Presidential election.
60% voted for Democrat Deval Patrick in the 2006 for Governor.
The 2010 U.S. Senate election showed a 6% decline in Democratic votes compared to the 2006 Governor’s election and 15% less than in the 2008 Presidential election. The City of Boston showed an overall 11% shift to the Republican ticket versus the 2008 election.
The only Boston neighborhoods to show less support for Coakley were Charlestown, Readville, West Roxbury and South Boston (where she lost with only 44% of the vote). East Boston matched the North End with 54%.
For a statewide map, see this post:
Scott Brown Defeats Martha Coakley for U.S. Senate Seat in Massachusetts
For a statewide view of the Republican shift, Boston.com has an interactive map:
http://www.boston.com/interactive/graphics/20100120_shift/
