WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in Massachusetts will choose candidates for the state’s primary Tuesday to run against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch. The primary tops the list of federal, state and local elections taking place across the state.
Warren is seeking a third term and has no opponent for the Democratic nomination. The possible Republican candidates are industrial engineer Bob Antonellis, Quincy City Council President Ian Cain or attorney John Deaton. Deaton is by far the best-funded Republican candidate, largely due to the million dollars he loaned his campaign. He has more than doubled Cain’s spending and had about $975,000 in the bank at the end of June. By comparison, Cain still had about $22,000 in his war chest.
Warren faced a tough campaign in her first run for the U.S. Senate in 2012, when she unseated Republican incumbent Scott Brown. She received more than 60% of the vote in 2018. Biden won the state in the 2020 presidential election with 66% of the vote.
In the 8th Congressional District in eastern Massachusetts, Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch does not face a primary in his race for a 12th full term. Vying for the Republican nomination are videographer Rob Burke, health care worker and retired Verizon employee Jim Govatsos and bar owner Daniel Kelly. Burke challenged Lynch in the 2022 general election, receiving 30% of the vote, compared to 70% for Lynch. Biden won this Greater Boston district in 2020 with 67% of the vote. Lynch had about $1.1 million in the bank at the end of June. None of his Republican challengers have reported raising money.
Democrats have a tight grip on the Bay State’s congressional delegation, holding both seats in the U.S. Senate and all nine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. They also hold overwhelming two-thirds majorities in both chambers of the state legislature, where all seats are up for election in November. Still, Republicans hope to expand their position in the state Senate, where they won a vacant Democratic seat in 2023.
In the Plymouth and Barnstable Senate district, Democratic incumbent Susan Moran is foregoing another term to run for Barnstable County circuit court clerk, giving Republicans a chance to reclaim a seat they won a decade ago and held for six years. The Republican candidates are Assemblyman Mathew Muratore and Bourne School Board member Kari MacRae. Muratore is endorsed by Brown, as are all four Republican senators and nearly all 25 Republican Assemblymen. Democratic Assemblyman Dylan Fernandes is unopposed for the Democratic nomination. He is backed by much of the state’s Democratic political establishment, including his former boss, Gov. Maura Healey. His uncle David Plouffe, who was Barack Obama’s campaign manager in 2008, has also campaigned for Fernandes.
Here’s a look at what to expect on Tuesday:
Primary school day
The Massachusetts primary election will take place on Tuesday. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
What is on the ballot
The Associated Press will announce voting results and announce the winners of the contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, State Senate, State House of Representatives, Governor’s Office and Plymouth County Commissioner.
Who can vote
Voters registered with a political party may only participate in their own party’s primary. In other words, Democrats may not participate in Republican primaries and vice versa. Independent or unregistered voters may participate in all primaries. The deadline to change party affiliation was August 24.
Decision notes
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley had some of the best results of her 2024 Republican primary campaign in heavily Democratic states like Vermont. But in nearby Massachusetts, where only Republicans and independents can participate in the primaries, Trump won easily statewide, winning all 14 counties.
Haley did well in places outside Boston such as Cambridge, Newton and Somerville, but the Republican candidate in the state primary who follows Trump’s lead and wins some of the Commonwealth’s most populous cities and towns such as Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, Brockton and Quincy would have a clear chance of winning.
In Massachusetts, election results are reported at the city level, not the county level. There are 351 cities and towns that combine to form 14 mostly huge counties.
The AP does not make predictions and will only declare a winner if it determines that there is no scenario in which the trailing candidates could close the gap. If a race has not yet been called, the AP will continue to report on any major developments, such as concessions or declarations of victory by the candidates. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and will explain why.
There are no automatic recounts in Massachusetts. Candidates can request a recount for statewide or countywide elections if the vote difference is 0.5% of the total vote or less. The AP can declare a winner in a race eligible for a recount if it determines the margin is too gigantic for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
What about voter turnout and early voting?
At the time of the presidential primary on February 24, there were nearly 5 million registered voters in Massachusetts. Of these, 27 percent were Democrats, 8 percent were Republicans, and 64 percent were independent or unaffiliated.
In the 2022 primary election, voter turnout was 16% of registered voters in the Democratic primary and 6% in the Republican primary. About 57% of voters in the Democratic primary and 32% of voters in the Republican primary cast their ballots before Election Day.
As of August 28, a total of 442,474 votes had been cast before primary day, with approximately 82% in the Democratic primary and 17% in the Republican primary.
How long does the vote count usually take?
In the 2022 primary, the AP first reported results at 8:04 p.m. ET, four minutes after polls closed. Election night counting ended at 3:33 a.m. ET, after about 83% of the total votes had been counted.
Are we there yet?
As of Tuesday, there are 63 days left until the parliamentary elections in November.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
