Massachusetts breaks new ground with Pressley, transgender rights

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BOSTON — Boston 25 News has complete coverage on Boston25.com/election2018.

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11:35 p.m.: Democrat Chris Pappas becomes the first openly LGBTQ person elected to Congress from New Hampshire.

11:30 p.m.: Democrat Lori Trahan wins election to U.S. House in Mass. 3rd Congressional District.

11:25 p.m.: Republican Gov. Chris Sununu has defeated Democrat Molly Kelly to win a second term in New Hampshire.

Now 44, Sununu was the youngest governor in the nation when he took office in early 2017. He argues that more significant legislation has passed during his tenure than under any other governor in the last two decades. He frequently touted the state's strong economy and low unemployment rate, and progress made on combatting the opioid crisis and reforming the state's mental health and child welfare systems.

11:19 p.m.: Sen. Elizabeth Warren addressed a raucous Democratic victory rally at the Farmont Copley Plaza, saying it is "important to remember where our movement began."

[ MA Senate Race: Warren re-elected, Diehl concedes ]

10:30 p.m.: Mass. voters say yes on question 2, voting to create a citizens commission to advance an amendment to the United States Constitution to limit the influence of money in elections and establish that corporations do not have the same rights as human beings.

10:15 P.M.: Massachusetts voters uphold transgender rights law in first such statewide vote, rejecting call for repeal.

10:00 p.m.: Republican Gov. Charlie Baker wins 2nd term in Massachusetts as Democrat Jay Gonzalez concedes.

Democrat Deb Goldberg has won a second four-year term as state treasurer in Massachusetts.

Rachel Rollins has been elected as Suffolk County District Attorney in historic election. Rollins is the first black woman elected DA is Massachusetts and the first female DA of Suffolk County.

Democrat Maura Healey is re-elected attorney general in Massachusetts, defeating Republican Jay McMahon.

Democrat Suzanne Bump is re-elected Mass. auditor.

9:40 p.m.: Democratic U.S. Reps. Joe Kennedy, Stephen Lynch and Richard Neal have won another term in Massachusetts.

All three won handily Tuesday, along with Ayanna Pressley, who unseated veteran Rep. Michael Capuano in September's primary and becomes the state's first black woman in Congress .

9:00 p.m.: Advocates for Question 1 concede ballot question initiative, voters reject mandated nurse-patient staff ratios.

8:00 p.m.: The polls in Massachusetts closed at 8 p.m.

Both Charlie Baker and Elizabeth Warren were immediately projected as winners by the Associated Press and CNN.

[ MA Senate Race: Warren re-elected, AP reporting ]

Baker, the incumbent Republican Governor, was expected to win over Democratic challenger Jay Gonzalez.

[ Massachusetts Election Results 2018 ]

5:45 p.m.: Boston Fire Department confirms the powered substance found at the Roxbury polling location was baking soda. Officials said it was found inside an envelope with an absentee ballot.

Boston Police are investigating this as a crime.

5:30 p.m.: Boston Police announced the polling location at 735 Shawmut Ave has been reopened. The Hazmat team was given the all clear and the substance found "appears to be innocuous and not suspicious."

5:00 p.m.: Boston Fire officials report an envelope with a powdered substance was discovered at a polling location on 735 Shawmut Avenue in Roxbury.

It has not been confirmed if the substance is hazardous, but firefighters along with Boston Police and the Boston Fire Department's Hazmat team are all on scene assisting with the investigation.

2:40 p.m.: Election officials in Boston, Lawrence and Lowell reported issues with voting machines. Elsewhere, officials reported mostly smooth operations.

2 p.m.: Heavy rain is falling in most of the state. It is expected to last through the evening hours. Take it slow during your evening commute home or to the polls.

1 p.m.: As of 1 p.m. in Westwood, over 3,000 residents - or 35 percent of registered voters - have cast their ballot. If it continues at this pace, there will be a higher turnout than 2014, which was about 64 percent.

12:20 p.m.: An elderly woman was injured after being struck at a polling place in Windham, New Hampshire. Police say while a driver was backing out of the polling location, he pinned the 89-year-old woman. She was conscious when transported to the hospital. Police say it was believed to be an accident and no arrests have been made.

12 p.m.: The City of Boston has 413,113 registered voters.
During early voting between October 22 - November 2, more than 28,000 voters cast their ballots or about 7 percent of registered voters in the city.

9:42 a.m.: Voters attempting to look up their polling place or voter registration at WhereDoIVoteMA.com could find a slow loading page due to the "high volume of voters accessing our website," the Massachusetts Secretary of State's office said. While they work to fix it anyone who needs help looking up their polling place or checking their registration can call 1-800-462-VOTE or email elections@sec.state.ma.us.

7:00 a.m.: Polls in Massachusetts have opened for Election Day.

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Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is hoping to defeat two challengers in an election that will also decide a slew of congressional races, a gubernatorial contest and whether Massachusetts should keep legal protections for transgender people.

Topping Tuesday's ballot is the Senate race. Republican state Rep. Geoff Diehl and independent candidate Shiva Ayyadurai are hoping to deny Warren a second six-year term.

If Warren wins, attention will quickly turn to the 2020 election. Warren has promised to take "a hard look" at a possible presidential run.

In the race for governor, Democrat Jay Gonzalez is trying to topple Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, who remains popular in Massachusetts and has maintained a lopsided fundraising edge.

There are also three questions on the ballot and five contested U.S. House races.

Though polls show him to be deeply unpopular in Massachusetts, President Donald Trump has nonetheless factored into the fall campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate. Gonzalez has faulted Gov. Baker -- a frequent Trump critic -- for endorsing some pro-Trump candidates who share the GOP ticket with him. Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has said her challenger, state Rep. Geoff Diehl, would support Trump "100 percent" if he was in the Senate.

[ Mass. Governor Race 2018: Baker vs. Gonzalez ]

[ Mass. Senate Race 2018: Ayyadurai, Diehl, Warren ]

[ Mass. Ballot Questions ]

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Massachusetts' top elections official says he expects about 2.4 million state residents to have voted by the time polls close on Election Day. Democratic Secretary of State William Galvin says if his prediction holds turnout would exceed the last two midterm elections in 2010 and 2014. Galvin revealed Monday there had been what he called "minor efforts" by hackers to penetrate the state's election systems, but none had been successful.

Election coverage:

The Associated Press contributed to this report