Early Returns -- 5th District

Jon Golnik has opened up a significant lead over Sam Meas in the Republican primary for the 5th District, but he still has an ace up his sleeve, as only one of Lowell's 33 precincts has yet reported. Still, with 110 out of 196 precincts tallied, the figures look like so:

Jon Golnik -- 6,564 votes
Sam Meas -- 4,362 votes
Tom Weaver -- 3,467
Bob Shapiro -- 2,792

Will Lowell make a big enough difference for Meas? He was expected to be strong in Haverhill, his home town, and indeed won by a significant margin there, while Lawrence also proved to be a Meas stronghold as expected. One thing that could be a problem, though, is low voter turnout; less than 900 people voted in the Republican primary in Lawrence out of a population of over 70,000. If Lowell follows suit with that kind of low turnout, it's probably over for Meas.