Barnstable Voters Back Joe Kennedy With Record Turnout Numbers

BARNSTABLE, MA — Barnstable voters put their support behind challenger Rep. Joe Kennedy III in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary Tuesday. Record numbers of voters turned out for the state primary.

Statewide, Kennedy lost to incumbent Sen. Ed Markey.

Almost 40 percent of Barnstable registered voters cast ballots, with a hotly-watched senate primary and all voters eligible to vote by mail due to the coronavirus. The 13,598 residents who voted in 2020 easily surpassed 2016's high of 6,408

>>MA Mail-In Voting Increases Turnout Across Several Communities

Kennedy took 51.6 percent of the 9,801 Democratic primary votes, to Markey's 47.6 percent.

State Rep. Bill Keating ran uncontested in his primary and will face off against Republican challenger Helen Brady in November.

On the Republican side, Barnstable voters supported businessman Kevin O'Connor in the U.S. Senate primary. He took defeated entrepreneur Shiva Ayyadurai 2,203-1,387.

Steven Xiarhos also won the Republican primary for the 5th Barnstable District state representative seat. Xiarhos defeated challenger Thomas Keyes with more than 68 percent of the vote.

>>Xiarhos Defeats Keyes In Primary For 5th Barnstable District