Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

What to watch for in the Massachusetts primaries

Kristi Noem, Geoff Diehl and Leah Cole Allen

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (left) attended a fundraiser Aug. 10 in Massachusetts for GOP gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl and Leah Cole Allen (right), who is running for lieutenant governor.

Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Massachusetts hasn’t thrown its electoral votes toward the Republican presidential candidate since 1984 and it hasn’t had a Republican senator since the Carter administration. And yet, the state has had just two Democratic governors since the mid-1960s. On Tuesday, GOP voters will decide which candidate will try to keep up that gubernatorial dominance in the November election.

The Bay State’s semi-open primary, the only one being conducted Tuesday, will determine candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state auditor, and other federal and local offices. Massachusetts is the only state conducting a primary this week.

State Attorney General Maura Healey is a lock for the Democratic nomination for governor, and she will face either former state Rep. Geoff Diehl or businessman Chris Doughty in November. Diehl has been endorsed by Donald Trump and hopes to ride the former president’s backing to the nomination, while Doughty claims he is the only Republican capable of defeating Healey.


The Republican candidates have each informally aligned with a former state representative seeking the lieutenant governor nomination, as Diehl and former Leah Cole Allen are campaigning together against Doughty and Kate Campanale.

Three Democrats – Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, state Rep. Tami Gouveia and state Sen. Eric Lesser – are competing to be Healey’s running mate.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

Other races:

  • Republican Jay McMahon, an attorney, is running unopposed for the attorney general nomination and will face either former Boston City Council President Andrea Campbell or attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan in November.
  • Incumbent William Galvin is trying to fend off an intraparty challenge from fellow Democrat Tanisha Sullivan so he can extend his 28-year run as secretary of state. Rayla Campbell, an insurance claims specialist, is the only candidate in the GOP primary. Galvin is the only statewide incumbent on the ballot but the party threw its support to Sullivan, head of the Boston chapter of the NAACP, at a convention earlier this year.
  • The state auditor contest features a two-person Democratic primary involving former state transportation official Chris Dempsey and state Sen. Diana DiZoglio. The winner will face Republican Anthony Amore, who has a background in security and investigations.
  • Massachusetts has nine congressional districts. Democrats hold every seat and all of the incumbents are running unopposed in the primaries. There are competitive GOP primaries in two districts.

Massachusetts, with its divided government, has made few permanent changes to its election system since the outbreak of Covid-19 and the unfounded allegations of voter fraud that have been raised by Donald Trump and his allies.

But in June 2022 the state did enact a wide-ranging election law. Its provisions include:

  • Requiring jurisdictions to allow early voting and extending the window for casting such ballots, including weekends.
  • Requiring a police presence at all polling locations.
  • Requiring jurisdictions to offer voting by mail in most elections.
  • Requiring the state to send early voting applications, with prepaid return postage, to all registered voters.
  • Allowing someone to apply for a mail ballot on behalf of a family member.
  • Expanding ballot options for disabled voters.
  • Expanding electronic voting options for military and overseas civilian voters.
  • Expanding the options for returning mail ballots.
  • Extending the deadline for the officials to receive mail ballots.
  • Requiring voter registration and voting services for eligible incarcerated voters.
  • Requiring correctional officials to provide voter information to people upon their release from prison.
  • Extending the voter registration deadline and requiring the online system to be available in multiple languages.
  • Directing the secretary of state to join ERIC, an interstate system for sharing voter registration information to facilitate maintenance of the voter rolls.

Read more about election law changes in Massachusetts.

Read More

Just the Facts: Trump Administration Pauses International Student Visas
woman wearing blue denim jacket holding book

Just the Facts: Trump Administration Pauses International Student Visas

The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, striving to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, we remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.

Has the Trump administration put a hold on issuing student visas for this coming fall?

The Trump administration has paused new student visa interviews as part of an effort to expand social media screening for applicants. The State Department has instructed U.S. embassies and consulates to stop scheduling new student and exchange visitor visa appointments until further guidance is issued. However, previously scheduled interviews will still proceed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Coalition of Nonprofits, Research Institutions Fight Against Proposed Cuts at CDC Injury Center

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Getty Images, sshepard

Coalition of Nonprofits, Research Institutions Fight Against Proposed Cuts at CDC Injury Center

WASHINGTON–Shayna Raphael started promoting infant safety 10 years ago after her daughter Claire passed away due to an unsafe sleeping environment at her daycare.

The Claire Bear Foundation, which Raphael created with her husband, teaches parents about unsafe products. But first, they need the data about which products endanger babies. They rely on a little-known agency at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Injury Center. The center collects most of the data used to keep people safe from injuries and death.

Keep ReadingShow less