The top 3 races to watch in the Massachusetts state primary Thursday
Yes, it's on a Thursday.
It might be viewed as a warm-up vote ahead of the general election. But in Democrat-heavy Massachusetts, the state primary will likely be more determinant of who residents elect in November.
Roughly 10 percent, if that, of the Bay State’s registered voters are expected to turn out for Thursday’s election (yes, it’s Thursday this year, not Tuesday, because of Labor Day).
That’s low compared to other years, due to the fact that there aren’t any U.S. Senate or gubernatorial elections this year, and because all nine of Massachusetts’s incumbent Democratic U.S. representatives are running without any challengers within their own party.
There are, however, a few high-profile local races to watch. More on this below, but first some house-cleaning.
How to vote
Voting is easy, but there are a few important things to know about it.
The deadline to register to vote in any election is 20 days prior to the date of that election. So the deadline for Thursday’s state primary has passed (Massachusetts, unlike some other states, does not have same-day registration).
That said, if you’ve voted in past elections in Massachusetts, including last March’s presidential primary, it’s likely that you’re already registered. If you’re unsure, you can look up your registration status online here by entering your name, birth date, and zip code.
If you are registered, make sure to note whether it’s as a Democrat, Republican, Green-Rainbow, United Independent Party, or unenrolled voter. For those registered with a specific party, you’re limited to voting on that party’s respective primary ballot.
However, more than half of the state’s registered voters are unenrolled, according to state enrollment data. Unenrolled voters can choose any of the four party primary ballots to vote on.
The next step is knowing where to vote. Helpfully, this is also something you can look up online, as long as you know your street address.
Per Massachusetts state law, polling locations are open from at least 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
You can also look up who will be on the local ballot for each party by simply entering your address.
As noted earlier, many races are uncontested. But there are more than a few races that could potentially be close.
The Second Middlesex district state Senate race
The progressive battle between longtime Democratic state Sen. Pat Jehlen, of Somerville, and challenger Leland Cheung, a Cambridge city councillor, has become somewhat of a charter school proxy war.
And with no candidates running on the Republican side, Thursday will be decisive in who represents Somerville, part of Cambridge, Medford, and Winchester on nearby Beacon Hill.
Jehlen has represented the district as a state senator since 2005 and was endorsed for re-election this year by Bernie Sanders’s post-campaign political organization Our Revolution. In an email, she said voters trust her record of progressive leadership.
But Cheung, who was endorsed by The Boston Globe as a candidate for lieutenant governor in 2014, says he would bring energy and a focus on day-to-day issues to the seat.
Cheung has had roughly $100,000 spent on his behalf by supporters of a ballot initiative to lift the state cap on charter schools. Jehlen, who is skeptical of the charter school question, has had about $115,000 spent in the race by opponents of the initiative, according to the most recent filing data.
Cheung recently told the Somerville Times that he would vote yes on the initiative, but he told Boston.com legislators could have kept the charter question off the ballot altogether.
Incumbent state Sen. Pat Jehlen (left) and primary challenger Leland Cheung (right).
The Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth district state Senate race
State Sen. Brian Joyce announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election, following a federal investigation into whether the Milton Democrat used the position to gain improper benefits (including free dry cleaning).
Two Democrats are now seeking to fill the nine-term senator’s vacated seat.
As The Boston Globe reported this week, longtime Milton Rep. Walter Timilty is running against first-time candidate and businesswoman (and fellow Milton resident) Nora Harrington.
Harrington, who has been endorsed by the Globe‘s editorial board, says she’s running as “the antidote to the career politician.” But the well-known and well-liked Timilty told the Globe he’s disappointed by Harrington’s “focus on his record, rather than her own proposals.”
Thursday’s winner will face Jon Lott, a Stoughton teacher running as an independent candidate, in the general election.
State Rep. Walter Timilty (left) and Nora Harrington (right) are both vying to replace state Sen. Brian Joyce.
The Cape and Islands district state Senate race
The district’s current senator, Democrat Dan Wolf, is retiring (maybe to run for governor). And as WBUR reported, there are two candidates from each of the major parties vying to replace him.
On the Democratic side, Julian Cyr, a former Department of Public Health official from Truro, is running against Wellfleet social worker Sheila Lyons. The two Democrats debated in Yarmouth last month and reportedly agreed on most of the issues presented, while working to emphasize their respective experience.
The Republican candidates are Barnstable town councilor and real estate broker Jim Crocker and Anthony Schiavi, a retired Air Force brigadier general from Harwich. Schiavi recently received a particularly glowing endorsement from the Globe editorial board, which lauded his approach to homelessness and treating opioid addition.
“Any Republican running for office in Massachusetts must reckon with being a member of a minority party and work across party lines,” the Globe wrote. “Schiavi would thrive in that role.”
What’s next?
Once Thursday’s outcomes are decided, Massachusetts voters will return to the ballot boxes on Tuesday, November 8. In addition to the state general election, presidential candidates, including Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, will be on the ballot. But perhaps you’ve already heard of them.
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