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An anticlimactic presidential primary election had limited interest from Ely area voters.
While as many as 2,000 people voted in town during the 2020 general election, only about 440 ballots were cast in the city limits for Tuesday’s primary. Other area precincts also had scant turnout.
Statewide, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump scored lopsided victories as the two rivals continue on a collision course toward a 2020 rematch.
Both candidates scored decisive wins across the country and moved closer to securing their respective party’s nominations as numerous states held primaries as part of “Super Tuesday.”
Locally, both Biden and Trump ran up convincing margins among those who did turn out.
Biden, who won about 70 percent of the vote statewide, had an even larger victory in Ely, collecting 172 votes. Another 29 Ely Democrats voted “uncommitted” with six votes cast for Minnesota U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips.
In Babbitt, Biden collected 37 of 47 votes and he carried Eagles Nest by a 35-1 count.
Morse Township voters picked Biden 179-39 and the margin was a bit closer at Fall Lake, where it was 44-14.
Trump also was a runaway winner locally, carrying Ely 179-39 over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
The former president enjoyed a 107-17 margin in Babbitt with Trump winning but by smaller margins in Morse (69-37), Fall Lake (4527) and Eagles Nest (32-15).
In St. Louis County, Biden picked up 78 percent of the vote while Trump won the county with 70.4 percent compared to 26.9 percent from Haley, who pulled out of the race on Wednesday.
