Why Did Trump Do So Well in MA?

[Kevin]

Why did Trump do so well in Massachusetts on Super Tuesday? As it has been one of his strongest states so far.

im assuming it was a very strong turnout among white blue collar types, independents, and old time Northeastern moderate/liberal Republicans that did it for him?

[Blue3]

Trump is the mindset of most Massachusetts Republicans I know. They're not Mitt Romney's, they're Scott Brown's, for the most part.

[ag]

To be a Republican in MA you must be a contrarian to begin with.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Who else are they going to vote for?

Rubio? Nah. Kasich? Someone who is destined to lose?

[Camaro33]

Demographics. As a New Englander, there are two types of Republicans here. The John Kasich type, who are traditional Republicans with moderate social views, and the Donald Trump type, the very self-centered Republicans who are successful in their own right. There aren't really any religious people up here, hence, little support for Cruz. Also, people up here are very, very media consuming, so Trump is a likely person to attract voters.

[RR1997]

Trump does best with working-class whites who identify as moderate and aren't religious. MA is full of those.

[Young Conservative]

ITs an open primary where republicans are very moderate and democrats and independents can vote. It also has very few very conservative and very religious voters

[RightBehind]

Trump, crazy as he is, isn't far right off of a cliff like Cruz is.

[James Bond 007]

In an open primary there's a greater chance of people crossing over to mess things up.  I don't know for a fact it was their intent but in 2008 it was what alot of voters on both sides did.

[ProudModerate2]

Probably a lot of Republican whites who are attracted to Trump.

I saw a recent survey somewhere, and Boston was voted the top (or near the top) large city with "racist" views, in the entire USA. Meaning they are not "too inviting" to people of color there.

Is this true ?
Anyone live in that area (or in New England) who can attest to this ?
Or have you ever visited there, and have noticed this ?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What makes people on this forum unable to spot the blindingly obvious? Trump's strongest support in New Hampshire came amongst the ex-pat white-flight Baaawstonians on the MA border (an affluent bunch for the most part, incidentally) and polls have shown consistent strength for him in humdrum non-fundie suburbia. Do you not know your own country very well or something?

[Thunderbird is the word]

See "Boston Against Busing," there is an ugly racial undercurrent in parts of MA politics which is probably true today as well.

[Ebsy]

Massholes.

[politicallpd]

I've written about this before, but will do so again.

Here's the deal with Massachusetts-- there is no single factor that explains Trump's dominance. The first leg of the stool here comes from his support among white, lower middle class, blue collar voters. There are a lot of them in Massachusetts, and I'll expect TRUMP to rack up a lot of votes in and around cities like Lowell, Lawrence, Fall River, and down through the Blackstone River valley.

Massachusetts is very much a tale of two Commonwealths, as is the rest of the country. Yes, our schools, economy and education system are better than yours but by and large, not everyone has shared in this wealth and success. Notice where Kasich pulled his voters and actually won towns-- all around the 128 corridor. By and large, disaffected white voters who've watched good manufacturing jobs shipped overseas, the rich get richer, the middle class get screwed, while at the same time they're witnessing broad societal change, and see Trump as the natural strength they need to keep them safe.

It has nothing to do with proximity to NH, etc.-- it's the same thing that's playing out all across America.

[This account no longer in use.]

Probably a lot of Republican whites who are attracted to Trump.

I saw a recent survey somewhere, and Boston was voted the top (or near the top) large city with "racist" views, in the entire USA. Meaning they are not "too inviting" to people of color there.

Is this true ?
Anyone live in that area (or in New England) who can attest to this ?
Or have you ever visited there, and have noticed this ?

As somebody who has lived in the Boston area for a long time, this isn't true.

[Figueira]

Massachusetts--all of Massachusetts--has a bigger racism problem than anyone there would like to admit.

[Famous Mortimer]

Although I live in New York, a large part of my social circle is Boston transplants. They all agree that Boston is massively racist. However that's also how they describe almost everything.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Massachusetts--all of Massachusetts--has a bigger racism problem than anyone there would like to admit.

Isn't that true of most places?

[This account no longer in use.]

Granted, I haven't spent much time in Boston. I live in a suburb which has a good number of Hispanics.

[Figueira]

Massachusetts--all of Massachusetts--has a bigger racism problem than anyone there would like to admit.

Isn't that true of most places?

Yes, I think a lot of white, left-leaning areas have the same kind of "We're the north, we can't be racist" attitude.

Granted, I haven't spent much time in Boston. I live in a suburb which has a good number of Hispanics.

I haven't either, and I live even further away from Boston than you do, but I have definitely heard from people who have spent time there that Boston is extremely racist.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Here's a hint: there's a direct correlation between townships where George Wallace did well in 1976 and townships where Trump did well in 2016. Here's an other hint: Wallace's support is a decent proxy for virulent/violent opposition to busing.

[Famous Mortimer]

Massachusetts--all of Massachusetts--has a bigger racism problem than anyone there would like to admit.

Isn't that true of most places?

Yes, I think a lot of white, left-leaning areas have the same kind of "We're the north, we can't be racist" attitude.

We're talking about Trump so we're not talking about left leaning areas. We're talking about little towns.

[This account no longer in use.]

Massachusetts--all of Massachusetts--has a bigger racism problem than anyone there would like to admit.

Isn't that true of most places?

Yes, I think a lot of white, left-leaning areas have the same kind of "We're the north, we can't be racist" attitude.

We're talking about Trump so we're not talking about left leaning areas. We're talking about little towns.

Ah, yes. Most of the small towns in my county do have mild racist undertones. Can't speak for much of western MA, though.

[Figueira]

Massachusetts--all of Massachusetts--has a bigger racism problem than anyone there would like to admit.

Isn't that true of most places?

Yes, I think a lot of white, left-leaning areas have the same kind of "We're the north, we can't be racist" attitude.

We're talking about Trump so we're not talking about left leaning areas. We're talking about little towns.

Little towns in Massachusetts are usually left-leaning. Although we are talking about the Republican primaries so maybe "culturally liberal" would be a better term.

[King of Kensington]

Trump won in pretty much the same places as Scott Brown, no?