Romney’s No. 1 locally

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the Massachusetts Republican Primary by a landslide Tuesday night, garnering 72 percent of the vote for a decisive victory.Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum finished second with 12 percent of the vote, while Texas Congressman Ron Paul finished third with 9 percent and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich placed fourth with 5 percent.Click for a photo gallery of Super Tuesday on the North Shore.Lynn had a voter turnout of just 8.5 percent as 2,996 voters cast the ballots out of 46,863 registered voters.City Clerk Mary Audley estimated a turnout of around 5,000, but barely 4,000 turned up Tuesday.Just 34 voters turned out at Ward 6, Precinct 2, and poll workers said even that was lower than normal.Romney garnered 71 percent of the vote in Lynn, with Santorum coming in second with 13 percent.While voting at the Shoemaker School, Lynn resident Priscilla Caissie said she thinks Romney is better suited to deal with the economy.”I think he’s going to beat Obama,” Caissie said. “I’ve known all along I was going to support him.”In Saugus, 2,689 residents cast their votes out of more than 17,000 registered voters for a 15 percent turnout. Romney netted 76 percent of the votes with 1,543, while Santorum received 206 votes for second.Mark Hudson was voting at the Belmonte Middle School in Saugus Tuesday, and said he voted for Romney because he thinks it will be good for Massachusetts.”I’ve been out of work for a year so I’m hoping he’ll bring jobs to the state,” Hudson said. “He’s a good businessman.”Just over 2,800 voters cast ballots in Revere, which saw an 11-percent voter turnout out of 24,318 total registered voters, while Peabody saw 12 percent of its voters show up at the polls. Swampcott had a 16-percent voter turnout rate.Dennis Forgione of Revere voted for Romney, as did Saugus resident Frank Piwowarski, who said he wants to show that “not everyone in Massachusetts loves Obama.”Romney won handily in Swampscott and Marblehead with 849 votes and 1,610 votes respectively and won in Peabody with 2,557 votes. Nahant saw 19 percent of its 2,500 registered voters cast votes and Lynnfield had 1,628 voters out of more than 9,000 registered for an 18 percent turnout rate.Mike Kwiatek, of Lynn, and his wife Donna both voted for President Barack Obama, who won Massachusetts uncontested, even though he was the only name on the Democratic ballot.”I always vote,” Kwiatek said. “We never miss an election. You don’t expect to see a lot of people here, just the die-hards.”Mark Smith, 27, was at the Shoemaker School in Lynn to vote for Romney because he said he likes his business skills.”I know some people hate him in this state, but you need someone with good business skills with the way the economy is going,” Smith said.Smith acknowledged not many of his friends were out voting Tuesday.”A lot of kids my age probably don’t follow politics for the most part,” Smith said. “But it’s our civil duty to vote. There are people out there that wish they could vote in other countries.”While many voters heading to the polls Tuesday had made up their minds about who to vote for, Saugus resident Margaret Witten said she still wasn’t sure.”I think once I walk inside I’ll decide,” Witten said. “I don’t really think any of them are worth voting for. It’s going to be one of those things that I wing it. The only one I think I should only bother thinking about is Mitt Romney.”Doreen Parola of Saugus voted for Romney, and said all she wants to see in November is a loss for Obama.”I don’t want Obama in there,” Parola said. “That’s why I’m out here.”Parola lamented the low turnout in Saugus and said it was “sad” to see such low numbers.”I think it’s terrible,” Parola said. “It’s disgusting. Anybody that doesn’t vote today can’t complain.”Robert Pasqualie of Lynn voted for Santorum because he said Santorum “has more fight in him” than the other candidates.”Romney has tried again and again,” Pasqualie said. “I wasn’t impresse