MARQUETTE — Statistics show the voter turnout for Tuesday’s primary election in Marquette County was slightly lower than last year’s primary.

As ballots finished rolling in from the city of Marquette early this morning, results provided by the Marquette County Clerk’s Office state that 28.22 percent of voters cast their ballots in Marquette County, a small decrease from the 28.76 percent turnout in last year’s primary.

According to the clerk’s office, 14,156 of 50,168 registered voters cast their ballots Tuesday in total, with 8,753 people voting Democratic and 4,909 voting Republican in the governor race.

Around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Marquette County Clerk Linda Talsma thought the turnout might be lower than usual.

“We’re not getting big numbers in,” she said. “I always wish the numbers were bigger but hopefully we’ll get a late rush.”

The Marquette County Democratic Party held an election party at its headquarters along U.S. 41 from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday where state Reps. Sara Cambensy, D-Marquette, who is running for re-election as a state representative, and Scott Dianda, D-Calumet, who’s running for state Senate, were present.

The representatives both discussed low turnout rates in primaries and suggested what voters should consider before the November election.

“People have to keep in mind that we had eight years in Michigan of going down a certain path where we handed out a lot of corporate welfare,” Dianda said. “That’s been on the backs of us as Michigan taxpayers. Pension tax was put in place, they raised the gas tax, the cost of living was more now than it’s ever been, there’s less money out there for us as the residents of the state and we have to get back to invest in our education system, we’ve got to invest in our people, we’ve got to invest in our state’s infrastructure.

“One of the things that I think will drive people to the polls in November is the fact that currently down in the Kalamazoo area, 3,000 people can’t drink the tap water. We have to start getting back to basic necessities that we pay taxes for — our infrastructure, our water systems, that has to be priority to all of us — if you can’t fill up a baby bottle with formula with water out of the tap and we’re giving away corporate welfare and we’re giving away these big tax breaks and that has to stop.”

Cambensy said primaries historically have a lower turnout but that the representatives are still working hard for state residents regardless.

“What we do in Lansing will affect the average person in Michigan much more than in Washington, D.C. but too often people focus on the national level and not what we’re doing here with more of their tax dollars and those services that go back into their communities,” she said. “Even though there’s only four of us in the U.P., three state representatives and one senator, I feel like the team we have when we work together can really get a lot of things accomplish for the residents of the U.P. and their support is noted and welcome.”

Even though the Marquette County Republican Party didn’t hold a gathering, MCRP Chairman Brendan Biolo said Ed McBroom, who’s running for state senator, Bill Schuette, who is the Republican candidate for Michigan governor, and John James will most likely be back in the Upper Peninsula to hold rallies.

“All our candidates that want won are good and stand a good chance in the fall,” Biolo said. “I met John James and he is an excellent candidate and we’re hoping to get him up here for a big candidate rally. Ed McBroom and Bill Schuette have been here and a lot and expect to see them as well.”