Somerville voters far more liberal than state in Nov. 2024 election, with overwhelming support for Harris, psychedelic legalization, progressive candidates, and reforms

SOMERVILLE — In the November 5, 2024 election, Somerville voters decisively endorsed progressive candidates and ballot measures, with overwhelming support for the Harris & Walz presidential ticket and strong backing for ballot measures such as labor rights for transportation network drivers, eliminating the MCAS test as a high school graduation requirement, and the legalization of psychedelics, with each measure exceeding statewide approval rates by over 20%.

Notably, in the presidential race, Harris & Walz received 83.86% of the votes in Somerville, which is 22.63% higher than the 61.23% they received statewide. This variance is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level, as determined by a one-tailed, two-sample t-test. Meanwhile, only 11.39% of voters in Somerville bulleted the ballot for the Trump/Vance ticket, compared to 36.03% statewide support for Trump.

Likewise, in the Senate race, Elizabeth Ann Warren captured 86.22% of the vote in Somerville, 26.42% higher than the 59.8% vote share she received throughout the Commonwealth. The 26.42% increase in support for Warren in Somerville is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. John Deaton, on the other hand, only got 13.25% of the vote in Somerville, while he obtained 40% of the vote statewide.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley continued to enjoy robust backing in the 7th Congressional District, capturing 97.35% of the vote in Somerville, which was only 0.25% higher than the 97.1% vote share she received throughout the district. But even that 0.25% increase in support in Somerville is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level using a one-tailed, two-sample t-test.

Meanwhile, State Senator Patricia Jehlen, a Democrat representing the 2nd Middlesex District, received 98.3% of the vote in Somerville which was 0.1% lower than her districtwide vote share of 98.4%. This 0.1% difference is not statistically significant.

Somerville is divided into three Massachusetts House of Representatives districts that extend into Cambridge and Medford, along with one district entirely within Somerville: the 26th, 27th, and 34th Middlesex Districts.

Incumbent State Rep. Mike Connolly (Democrat – 26th Middlesex District), representing parts of Cambridge and Somerville and running unopposed, secured 98% of the votes in Somerville and 98.9% throughout the district. The 0.9% difference between the Somerville vote and that of the district is not statistically significant at the 95% confidence level in a one-tail, two sample t-test.

Incumbent Erika Uyterhoeven, who ran unopposed and is affiliated with both the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, represents the 27th Middlesex District, encompassing parts of Somerville, and secured 98.02% of the vote.

In the 34th Middlesex District, which includes areas of Medford and Somerville, incumbent Democrat Christine Barber who also ran unopposed, received 98.11% of the votes in Somerville and 98% across the district. The 0.11% increase in the vote for Barber in Somerville as compared to the district is not statistically significant at the 95% confidence level in a one-tailed, two-sample t-test.

Terrence Kennedy won the District 6 governor’s council race taking home 98.4% of the Somerville vote as opposed to 98.1% of the vote districtwide, the 0.3% increase in support for Kennedy in Somerville is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, the 6th Governor’s Council District in Massachusetts encompasses a wide area that includes parts of Boston and Cambridge, as well as the entirety of several other cities and towns. In Boston, the district includes full wards and specific precincts from Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. In Cambridge, it covers all wards except for some precincts in Ward 8. The district also includes the municipalities of Chelsea, Everett, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Marblehead, Medford, Melrose, Nahant, Reading, Revere, Saugus, Somerville, Stoneham, Swampscott, Wakefield, Winchester, and Winthrop. This district is represented in the Governor’s Council, which is a body within the state government responsible for advising the governor on executive decisions, including the approval of judicial appointments.

Incumbent Democrat Middlesex County Clerk of Courts Michael Sullivan received 98.61% of the vote in Somerville, 0.09% lower than his countywide percentage of 98.7%. This 0.09% difference, though minor, is statistically significant at the 80% confidence level in a one-tailed, two sample t-test.

In the Register of Deeds race for the Middlesex Southern District, Democrat Maria Curtatone garnered 84.45% of the vote in Somerville, which is 10.25% higher than her overall district percentage of 74.2%. This increase in support within Somerville is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Conversely, her opponent, William “Billy” Tauro (Unenrolled), received 15.12% of the Somerville vote, 10.38% less than his districtwide figure of 25.5%, a difference that is also statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.

Detailed Breakdown of Ballot Questions

• Question 1: State Auditor’s Authority to Audit the Legislature
  Somerville voted in favor of the measure with a strong majority of 76.27%, surpassing the statewide support of 71.6%, and the 4.67% increase in Somerville’s support is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.
• Question 2: Elimination of MCAS as High School Graduation Requirement
  In Somerville, 63.36% of voters supported the elimination of the MCAS tests as a graduation requirement, exceeding the statewide approval rate of 59.1% by 4.26%, a difference that is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.
• Question 3: Unionization for Transportation Network Drivers
  Somerville demonstrated strong support for labor rights with 75.90% voting yes, 21.8% higher than the statewide approval rate of 54.1%, a difference that is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.
• Question 4: Limited Legalization and Regulation of Certain Natural Psychedelic Substances
  Somerville voters approved this measure with 65.86%, which is 22.66% higher than the statewide approval rate of 43.2%, a statistically significant difference at the 95% confidence level.
• Question 5: Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers
  Somerville residents voted 59.53% in favor of raising the minimum wage for tipped workers to match the full state minimum wage, a figure 23.63% higher than the 35.9% statewide approval, a difference that is statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.

Here are the total breakdowns for the results from the Nov. 5, 2024 election for Somerville and the state. The total vote percentages – per the protocol of the Secretary of State’s Office – exclude blank votes from the denominator in their determination.

The statewide data in the tables was obtained from the Secretary of State’s website here and the results for the City of Somerville were obtained from the city’s website here.

President & Vice President

Senate (Statewide)

Congress (7th Congressional District)

Governor’s Council (District 6)

State Senator (i.e. Senator in General Court) (2nd Middlesex District)

State Representative (i.e. Representative in General Court) (26th Middlesex District)

State Representative (i.e. Representative in General Court) (27th Middlesex District)

State Representative (i.e. Representative in General Court) (34th Middlesex District)

Clerk of Courts (Middlesex County)

Register of Deeds (Middlesex Southern District)

Question 1:  State auditor’s authority to audit the legislature

Question 2: Elimination of MCAS as high school graduation requirement

Question 3: Unionization for transportation network drivers

Question 4: Limited legalization and regulation of certain natural psychedelic substances

Question 5: Minimum wage for tipped workers