AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the Massachusetts state primaries

WASHINGTON -- Massachusetts Republicans will choose candidates to challenge U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch in state primaries on Tuesday. The contests top the list of federal, state and local races that will be held across the commonwealth.

Warren is seeking a third term and is unopposed for the Democratic nomination. The possible Republican nominees are industrial engineer Bob Antonellis, Quincy City Council President Ian Cain or attorney John Deaton. Deaton is by far the best-funded candidate in the GOP field, thanks mostly to the $1 million he loaned to his campaign. He more than doubled Cain’s spending and had about $975,000 in the bank as of the end of June. In comparison, Cain had about $22,000 left in his war chest.

Warren faced a competitive race in her first U.S. Senate bid in 2012, when she toppled Republican incumbent Scott Brown. She received more than 60% of the vote in 2018. Biden carried the state with 66% of the vote in the 2020 presidential race.

In the 8th Congressional District in eastern Massachusetts, Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch faces no primary challenge 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 Boston-area district in 2020 with 67% of the vote. Lynch had about $1.1 million in the bank as of the end of June. None of this Republican challengers have reported raising any money.

Democrats have a lock on the Bay State’s congressional delegation, with both U.S. Senate seats and all nine U.S. House seats firmly in their column. They also hold lopsided supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature, where all seats are up for election in November. Nonetheless, Republicans hope they can build on their toehold in the state Senate, where they flipped a vacant Democratic seat in 2023.

In the Plymouth and Barnstable state Senate district, Democratic incumbent Susan Moran is forgoing another term in order to run for Barnstable County Clerk of Courts, giving Republicans a shot at winning back a seat they won a decade ago and held for six years. The Republican candidates are state Rep. Mathew Muratore and Bourne School Committee Member Kari MacRae. Muratore has Brown’s endorsement, as well the backing of all four Republican state senators and almost all 25 Republican state representatives. Democratic state Rep. Dylan Fernandes is unopposed for the Democratic nomination. He has the backing of much of the state's Democratic political establishment, including his former boss, Gov. Maura Healey. His uncle David Plouffe, who was Barack Obama's 2008 campaign manager, has also campaigned for Fernandes.

Here’s a look at what to expect on Tuesday:

Primary day

The Massachusetts state primary will be held Tuesday. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, state Senate, state House, the Governor’s Council and Plymouth County Commissioner.

Who gets to vote

Voters registered with a political party may vote only in their own party’s primary. In other words, Democrats can’t vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unenrolled voters may participate in any primary. The deadline to change party affiliation was Aug. 24.

Decision notes

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley posted some of the best vote results from her 2024 Republican presidential primary campaign in heavily Democratic states like Vermont. Yet in nearby Massachusetts where only Republicans and independents can vote in the primary, Trump easily won statewide, carrying all 14 counties.

Haley did well just outside of Boston in places like Cambridge, Newton and Somerville, but the statewide Republican primary candidate who follows Trump’s example of winning some of the commonwealth’s most populous cities and towns such Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, Brockton and Quincy would have a clear path to victory.

Votes in Massachusetts are reported at the more granular town level, rather than at the county level. There are 351 cities and towns that roll up into 14 mostly enormous counties.

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

There are no automatic recounts in Massachusetts. Candidates may request a recount for statewide or districtwide elections if the vote margin is 0.5% of the total vote or less. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

What do turnout and advance vote look like?

There were just shy of 5 million registered voters in Massachusetts as of the presidential primary on Feb. 24. Of those, 27% were Democrats, 8% were Republicans and 64% were independent or not enrolled in any party.

In the 2022 primaries, turnout was 16% of registered voters in the Democratic primary and 6% in the Republican primary. About 57% of Democratic primary voters and 32% of Republican primary voters cast their ballots before election day.

As of Aug. 28, a total of 442,474 ballots had been cast before primary day, about 82% in the Democratic primary and 17% in the Republican primary.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2022 primaries, the AP first reported results at 8:04 p.m. ET, or four minutes after polls closed. The election night tabulation ended at 3:33 a.m. ET with about 83% of total votes counted.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 63 days until the November general election.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.