Incumbents may have won across Massachusetts in the primary election, but the primary itself experienced its own kind of victory.

Unofficial election results show an increase in Worcester voter participation in this year's primary from the primary election of two years ago.

More people were registered to vote and showed up to the polls on primary day, Sept. 1 than voters in 2024, according to unofficial election results provided by the city clerk's office.

Worcester saw an increase in registered voters, from 116,727 in 2024 to 119,806 in 2026, a difference of 3,079 people; and a higher voter turnout, from 13,462 to 18,238, up 4,776, between the two years. In 2026, 15.22% of registered voters cast ballots; in 2024, 11.53% of registered voters cast ballots.

Historically, primary turnout across the country tends to be low, the average sitting at around 20%, and Massachusetts is no exception, with primary turnout running between 14% and 20%, according to Robert Boatright, a professor of political science at Clark University. He has authored several books studying primary elections and election finance.

Top-of-the-ballot competition drives voters to the polls, he said, pointing to higher-profile races like the U.S. Senate showdown between Sen. Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton.

"The past few years have been unusual in that the Democratic Party has lost control of the nomination process," he said. "We get to the point where we're at this year where you have multiple incumbents who are facing credible challengers, mostly on the left."

The people who typically turn out to vote in primaries aren't necessarily representative of the electorate in a given area because the demographics tend to skew older, more educated and more wealthy, Boatright said.

"The important thing is we should not read too much into the lessons from primaries. There are 21 different days when primaries are held and it's common for the national media to draw lessons from these things," he said. "You have to keep in mind that these are races where very few people vote and where voters are not representative of the state that they come from."

Of the 29,412 registered Democrats in Worcester, 14,688 cast ballots in the primary, or just under 50%. According to the city clerk, 3,550 of the 6,914 registered Republicans in the city turned out, or 51%. There are an additional 83,478 unenrolled voters in the city. Seventeen blank ballots were returned in this election.

More Democrat and Republican voters participated in Tuesday's primary, Sept. 1 compared with two years ago. Data show 10,132 Democrats cast votes, or 31%, in the 2024 primary, along with 3,223 Republicans, or 46%. The city had 32,663 and 7,073 registered Democrats and Republicans in 2024, respectively. Another 76,586 voters were unenrolled and 425 were registered Libertarians. Registered voters representing the Libertarian party did not meet a threshold of 5% voter enrollment to be eligible in this year's state primary, per Massachusetts law.

There was only one contested primary race in 2024 for the Republican challenger for Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren's seat. John Deaton won the race with 1,839 votes [58%] against his opponents, Robert Antonellis's 1,020 [32%] and Iain Cain's 288 votes [9%]. Deaton lost against Warren in the general election later that year.

Incumbents easily won in races across Massachusetts including in the Senate where Markey easily topped Moulton. In Worcester, 10,132 Democrats voted for Markey, 70.38% of the city's total vote, while 4,208 cast ballots for Moulton, 29.23% of the city's vote. Blank votes accounted for 291 ballots in that race and 21 ballots were cast for written-in candidates.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue will face off against Democratic Gov. Maura T. Healey in November's general election. Minogue won Worcester Republican voters' endorsement handily: 2,451 [70%] of voters chose him over his challenger, Brian Shortsleeve, who had 1,013 [30%] of the total vote. Sixty-five ballots were returned blank and 21 ballots had written-in candidates.

In races that cover Worcester, Rep. James O'Day and Rep. Mary Keefe held onto their seats serving the 14th and 15th Worcester districts, respectively. O'Day earned 2,090 [64%] of the Democratic vote in the 14th district to his challenger, Barur "Raj" Rajeshkumar's 1,182 votes [36%]. Keefe received 1,285 [65%] of votes in the 15th district compared to Ron Waddell Jr.'s 696 [35.01%] votes.

In the 14th district race, 106 blank ballots and eight write-in ballots were returned. In the 15th district race, 95 blank ballots and seven write-ins were returned.

"If there was a push by the adjoining states to have their primary on the same day, that would probably boost turnout because, at the very least, people would be exposed to more news about the primary. A lot of people don't even know who their representative is," Boatright said.

Unofficial results precinct-by-precinct are available on the city clerk's website.

The general election takes place Nov. 3. Voters can register up until Oct. 24. Early voting begins Oct. 17 through Oct. 30. The vote by mail application deadline is Oct. 27.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester sees jump in voter turnout for primary