The two issues that helped Trump surge in deep blue Massachusetts

Donald Trump made huge gains in deep-blue Massachusetts due to voter dissatisfaction with illegal immigrants and inflation, according to analysts.

Although the president-elect failed to topple the reliably Democratic state, he did outperform his previous performances there.

Trump improved his performance in 2020 by four percentage points and even managed to win in twelve communities.

In the Massachusetts State House, the Republican Party managed to gain a legislative seat, ousting a veteran Democrat.

“Ultimately, yesterday’s results say Republicans were more focused on the issues that matter to people,” Republican pollster Jon McHenry told the paper. Boston sphere.

“They are very focused on the economy and very focused on illegal immigration, which has had an outsized impact on Massachusetts.”

Locals also told the newspaper that the border had become a hot button for them.

“I feel like there are a lot of them [the migrants] come here and get food stamps, housing and all these things that should go to other people who live here,” Matt Johnson, 36, of Norfolk.

Democratic Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey excoriated then-President Trump in 2017 for his decision to cut federal funding to “sanctuary cities,” including Boston.

But earlier this year she traveled to Texas to urge migrants not to travel to the Bay State after local agencies struggled to cope with the massive surge in border crossings.

Louis Murray, 59, of West Roxbury, is an avid Trump supporter who claimed Massachusetts is now a “border state.”

He added that Democrats were “fully opening the border.” . . . So you can’t double the limit and not expect people to respond.”

An influx of illegal migrants has led to escalating tensions in parts of the state. In Stoughton, parents remained furious after budget cuts led to school bus services being axed, but shuttles for asylum seekers continued to operate.

In August, it was reported that approximately 50,000 illegal migrants had entered Massachusetts since Joe Biden took office in 2021.

The situation became so dire that migrants were held in emergency shelters at Logan Airport until they, too, overflowed.

Many voters were motivated by Trump’s promises on immigration after he became president

Massachusetts has welcomed more than 50,000 illegal immigrants in the past four years, many of whom had to be temporarily housed at Logan Airport (pictured)

Trump returned about 48,000 more votes in this election in Massachusetts than in 2020, equivalent to 36 and 32 percent of the vote, respectively.

He won a majority in nearly 80 of the state’s 351 constituencies, some of which turned in his favor.

Much of the support came from rural parts and places near the Connecticut border, such as southeastern Massachusetts, where Kelly Dooner won the state’s Senate race against Democrat Marc Pacheco.

Dooner walked in Taunton, which made headlines after the city sued a local hotel for housing too many migrants.

Elsewhere, economic issues appeared to have swayed the vote for Republicans in Massachusetts.

“Many working Americans and working Massachusetts residents feel like their concerns are not being heard,” Republican Speaker Amy Carnevale said.

For 54-year-old Frank Kenny of Boston, rising inflation helped sway his vote toward Trump.

Other voters cited Trump’s promises to lower the cost of living for the average American as their reason for voting

“People said Trump is an animal and all that stuff – the media just ruined it,” Kenny said. ‘But it got better [under Trump]. People were making money.”

A Forbes survey earlier this year estimated the cost of living in Massachusetts at $50,000 per year, making it the second highest in the US.

Other voters cited Trump’s perceived toughness on foreign policy as a reason for their vote.

The situation in Massachusetts was echoed elsewhere in New England, which is generally blue, while Trump made progress in Maine and Rhode Island.

Even in the Democratic stronghold of New York, Trump saw no less than a twelve-point improvement in his margin compared to Biden in 2020.