Canton voters gave U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch 62% of the vote in the Sept. 1 Democratic primary. The strong suburban showing helped the 71-year-old incumbent defeat challenger Patrick Roath and secure a 14th term representing the 8th Congressional District.

Lynch beat Roath by roughly 14 to 15 percentage points districtwide, according to partial returns reported by NBC Bostonand The Hill, with less than half the vote tallied on election night. But the margin was built in suburbs south of Boston. Roath actually won more votes than Lynch inside the city, MassLive reported, and communities like Canton erased that advantage.

The 62% Canton figure, drawn from MassLive's post-election breakdown, stands out in a race that tightened sharply over the summer. Lynch led Roath by 26 points in a February poll. By the campaign's final stretch, that gap had shrunk to seven points, Al Jazeera reported.

Roath, a 39-year-old Jamaica Plain attorney, outraised Lynch, pulling in about $1.3 million to the incumbent's roughly $910,000, according to Al Jazeera. He campaigned on generational change and criticized Lynch's past votes, including against the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and for the Laken Riley Act, according to The Hill.

Lynch, a South Boston native who has held the seat since 2001, leaned on his record. He pointed to his senior position on the House Oversight Committee and millions of dollars in earmarks he secured for community centers, coastal flooding defenses and other local facilities, according to MassLive's race preview.

On the trail, Lynch described himself as a "moderate Democrat" and said his upbringing in public housing was emblematic of the district's residents, according to The Hill.

Seven House Democrats nationally lost their primaries this cycle amid calls for generational change, according to The Hill. Lynch survived.

As we reported Wednesday, Canton voters also shaped local races on Sept. 1, backing Lisa Lopez for state representative and Adam Deitch for Norfolk County district attorney.

Lynch faces Republican Robert Burke of Dedham in the Nov. 3 general election. Lynch has defeated Burke in both the 2022 and 2024 general elections, according to MassLive.