Markey Leads Gomez in New Suffolk/WHDH Poll

Congressman leads Gabriel Gomez by 17 points.

A new Suffolk University/7NEWS (WHDH) poll shows a strong lead for Democratic U.S. Congressman Edward Markey over Republican businessman and former U.S. Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez in the race for the U.S. Senate special election. The poll of 500 likely voters has Markey at 52 percent and Gomez at 35 percent. Eleven percent of voters in the poll were undecided. A third-party candidate, Richard Heos of the Twelve Visions Party, got 1 percent and another 1 percent refused to respond. David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston, said along with the announcement of the poll that Markey has "a large lead over his Republican opponent who voters are unsure about." Indeed, 32 percent of those polled said …

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Peabody Goes for Lynch, Gomez in Senate Primary

Here's how Peabody voted in the U.S. Senate Primary on Tuesday. Overall turnout was 17 percent of registered voters.

The race to become Massachusetts' next U.S. Senator now comes down to Democrat Congressman Ed Markey and Republican businessman and former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez. Tuesday in Peabody, Gomez secured a solid victory over his Republican opponents Michael Sullivan and Dan Winslow as he did statewide, but it was Democrat Congressman Stephen Lynch who bucked the larger trend with a 164-vote margin over Markey. Here's a look at the local results:   Overall turnout for the special election primary to eventually succeed former Sen. John Kerry was 17 percent in Peabody, slightly higher than City Clerk Tim Spanos had predicted. The total number of registered voters is about 35,100. "I'll take it," Spanos said Tuesday night. He said he hopes the final…

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U.S. Senate Candidates Campaign Around North Shore

Both Republican and Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate have spent some time on the North Shore campaigning, including stops in Peabody and Danvers.

In the days and weeks leading up to today's primary election for Massachusetts' open seat in the U.S. Senate, the candidates have been canvassing the entire state and have made numerous stops around the North Shore, including in Peabody and Danvers.

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Cole Sworn in May 1 as Peabody's New State Rep

Peabody Republican Leah Cole will officially take office on Beacon Hill May 1, representing the 12th Essex District.

Peabody's new state representative will finally be sworn into office this week, just shy of a month after winning a closely contested three-way special election. Leah Cole tells Peabody Patch a ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday morning at the State House and she's ready to get to work. Cole, a 24-year-old Republican, narrowly defeated seasoned city politicians Beverley Griffin Dunne and David Gravel on April 2 in what was her first ever bid for public office. Cole is the 30th member of the GOP in the Mass. House of Representatives, which finally passed a $34 billion budget onto the Senate last week. She will, however, still get a chance to have a say on next year's state budget. Once the Senate agrees on a spending plan, the budget will …

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Patch Interviews U.S. Senate Candidates

We gathered questions from editors across Patch’s coverage area in Massachusetts.

Lynch, Markey Debate Health Care, Outside Funding

Candidates for U.S. Senate Democratic nomination squared off in Lowell Monday.

U.S. Congressmen Stephen Lynch and Edward Markey met in their second debate Monday ahead of the Democratic U.S. Senate special primary in a contest that contained few fireworks outside of an exchange on health care. The debate, held at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and sponsored by the college and the Boston Herald, lasted about 45 minutes and touched a wide variety of issues on which the two Democrats mostly agreed. An early question was asked about the candidates' positions on the Affordable Care Act. Markey (D-Malden) voted in favor of the bill that passed in 2010 while Lynch (D-South Boston) was one of few Democrats who opposed it. Markey said voting for the bill was the "proudest vote of my Congressional career." He said …

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Lynch, Markey Debate Tonight in Lowell

The Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate meet in their second debate.

The combatants for the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate special election will square off Monday night in Lowell for their second debate leading up to the April 30 primary. Congressmen Edward Markey (D-Malden) and Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston) will participate in the debate being held at 7:30 p.m. at Durgin Hall on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The debate is being sponsored by UMass Lowell’s Center for Public Opinion and the Boston Herald. Questions for the debate will be posed by UMass Lowell students while the moderator will be reporter Jaclyn Cashman, according to the university. Markey and Lynch previously met for their first debate March 27 at the Channel 5 studios in Needham. The two candidates agreed…

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