EBOSTON (AP) – Massachusetts voters headed to the polls Tuesday and endorsed a favorite political son for the White House while a dozen or more hotly contested legislative races – and the political sway of the state’s governor – hung in the balance.

Only a few polling problems including jammed machines and confusion over procedure were reported and resolved quickly and did not delay voting, Secretary of State William F. Galvin said. Some polls in Boston stayed open past 8 p.m. due to long lines, as voter turnout statewide was expected to hit a record high of 3 million.

Harvard student Emily Haigh, 22, said she was prepared for voting hassles that never materialized.

“I expected long lines, but there were none. It was quick and simple,” said Haigh, who voted for Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry. “I found it all very exciting. I felt compelled to be here because of the war.”

Republican Paul Schreier, 27, of Boston, voted for President Bush because he considered him the lesser of two evils.

“His policies are probably going to deter and prevent terrorism better than Kerry’s,” said Schreier, who works in sales and marketing.

While the nation’s eyes were on the race between Kerry and Bush, Gov. Mitt Romney, who voted early Tuesday morning at Belmont Town Hall, has staked his reputation in part on the fortunes of Republican legislative challengers he helped recruit.

Even if Republicans pick up a few seats in the House and Senate, they are unlikely to capture the one-third of the seats in either chamber to uphold a Romney veto. Republicans now hold just seven of the 40 Senate seats and 22 of 160 House seats.

There was much less intrigue in the Congressional elections, as all 10 members of the state’s all-Democratic delegation to the U.S. House were up for re-election, but only five faced GOP challengers.

Some congressmen are using the election to lay the groundwork for a possible special election to fill Kerry’s Senate seat, if he is elected president.

The highest-profile race pitted incumbent James McGovern, a Worcester Democrat, against challenger Ron Crews, a Republican from Ashland, former Georgia lawmaker and leader of the movement to block gay marriage in Massachusetts.

The question of gay marriage was a factor in some of the legislative races. By a 105-92 vote, lawmakers this year approved a proposed amendment to the state constitution outlawing gay marriage but guaranteeing civil union rights to same-sex couples. The question comes up for a final vote during the next legislative session and if approved, would go to voters in 2006.

Retail manager Jim Cicerchia, 37, of Springfield, said he was inclined to vote for candidates who support marriage rights for same-sex couples.

“I have a lot of friends that are gay, and I totally support their rights,” said Cicerchia, a Democrat.

Across the state, the combination of a local presidential candidate and some heated legislative races was driving high voter turnout.

Adelaide Spear, 48, a Republican from Whitman, said she had never seen her polling place at Whitman Town Hall so crowded.

“I think it’s great,” Spear said. “I think everybody should excited to vote.”

Independent voter Chris Coffin, a 43-year-old hotel manager, cast his ballot for Kerry, saying a Kerry win would mean two victory celebrations in Boston in a week, after the Red Sox won their first World Series title in 86 years.

“We could use another victory parade,” Coffin said.