Republicans are growing in Bristol County; problems of wind energy

Elections of 2024 has taken bizarre turns like no other in American history.

It began as a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Amid concerns on both sides that an increasingly weakened Biden is unable to organize a campaign, the party rejected Kamala Harris’ nomination for vice president instead of this. Trump was convicted of 34 crimes and almost killed. He accepted the support of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who confessed wanting to eat and then dump, a roadkill bear carcass. And neither side seemed sure how to handle it American reaction to Israel’s war in Gaza.

Now that this episode is over, let’s zoom in on Bristol County, which has its own issues. Here are five takeaways from the night.

Is Bristol County Getting Redder — Or Less Blue?

Recent elections have shown that Bristol County is leaning more and more toward the Republican Party. As of Wednesday night, after nearly all the votes had been counted, Trump and Harris were nearly even: 129,826 votes for Harris to 129,813 for Trump — I’ll spare you the math, that’s a 13-vote difference.

In fact, the Republican vote share in Bristol County has increased in every presidential election since 1996. But the share of Democrats has remained more or less the same — although there have been clear drops when Hillary Clinton and Harris ran.

To put Republican growth and Democratic stagnation in stark contrast:

In the 1996 election, Republican Bob Dole won just over 47,000 Republican votes, while Democrat Bill Clinton won more than 127,000. That means the Republican vote share for president has increased by 174% so far this year, while the Democratic vote share has increased by 1.5%.

The total population of Bristol County increased by approximately 11% during this period.

Are more Republicans feeling active in Bristol County? Does the Democratic Party not activate voters?

Republican voters in Bristol County have influence

These active Republican voters are making their presence felt. Bristol County was one of only two counties that voted for Republican Senate candidate John Deaton over incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Warren — 50.5% to 49.5%, barely but enough to matter and Deaton’s biggest source of support .

Bristol’s 5th District has been held since 2001 by state representative Patricia Haddad, who describes herself as a moderate Democrat. It was taken by Justin Thurber, a Republican who previously challenged her in 2022 and campaigned in part on immigration issues.

Voters in Bristol’s 8th District, held since 2011 by retiring Democrat Paul Schmid, Republican Christopher Thrasher was nearly elected, even beating the winner, Democrat Stephen Ouellette, in the area of Ouellette itself.

Further north, in Bristol County, the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Mark Pacheco will Taunton City Councilman Kelly Duner, a Republican.

And in Fall River, a typically Democratic city, Trump beat Harris 50.7% to 47.7%.

SouthCoast will have freshmen in the state legislature

South Coast will send some new faces to Beacon Hill in January: Thurber, Ouellette, Duner and Democrat Mark Silvia, who will fill the seat of retiring state Rep. William Straus.

They replace representatives who have served in the Legislature for many years and built lasting relationships there — Strauss has been a state representative since 1993 and Pacheco has held elected statewide office since 1989. Can this group of freshmen complete the challenge of South Coast this coming term?

Bristol County has voted to ban Uber drivers from unionizing

The question is whether give Uber and Lyft drivers the right to unionize passed statewide, but Bristol County was one of three counties statewide where voters rejected the idea.

It was close, but a slim majority, 50.2% of voters, said ride-share drivers should not be able to unionize.

The issue of ridesharing was most supported in Suffolk County, metro Boston, where ridesharing is more common.

What will happen to the SouthCoast wind projects?

Trump’s inauguration in January could cast doubt on the future of the offshore wind industry. The former and future president has long railed against wind energy projects, claiming they kill whales and birds and vowing to shut down the projects “on day one.”

South coast, in particular New Bedford and Somersetuses its proximity to Atlantic wind farms to produce wind energy a the key part with local economy: delivery, installation, maintenance and power transmission. What would a second Trump presidency mean for these projects — and the jobs and money invested so far?