State Primary Preview: Races For Governor, Senate And House Seats, District Attorney On The Ballot

Massachusetts will hold its primary elections on September 1st, with several contested races on the ballot, highlighted by a competitive U.S. Senate race between incumbent Ed Markey and Seth Moulton, who currently represents Massachusetts’ 6th district in the House of Representatives. Given the state’s strong Democratic lean, candidates who claim victory in the Democratic primaries often coast to victory in the subsequent general elections, making the primaries especially important.

Other contested races on the ballot include the Democratic primary for the Cape and Islands' District Attorney's office, the Democratic primary for the House of Representatives seat that covers Nantucket, and the Republican gubernatorial primary. The general election will be held on Tuesday, November 3rd.

The Senate contest between Markey and Moulton has drawn by far the most attention of the primaries. Moulton, a moderate whose district covers a portion of northeastern Massachusetts, has focused much of his campaign on two issues: Markey’s age - the Senator turned 80 this July - and his alleged complacency and inaccessibility to his constituents.

“We’ve got to have an honest discussion about this. If Democrats win the Senate, it will be by one vote, and we can't afford to have another Trump-appointed Supreme Court justice because one of our Senators is on medical leave or worse,” Moulton told the Current. “We should thank [Markey] for his service, but people need to know when to move on and pass the torch.”

Markey, who did not return repeated requests for comment from the Current over multiple months, has replied that “it’s not your age, it’s the age of your ideas” and that he is “more energized than ever.” Markey, who has served in Congress since 1976, has emphasized his track record supporting progressive causes and his ideological position solidly to Moulton’s left. Known as one of the staunchest progressives in the Senate, Markey has introduced the “Green New Deal” environmental package to the Senate multiple times, as well as championing other issues associated with the Democratic Party’s left wing.

Markey holds a lead over Moulton in the polls, though the margin is uncertain. In two polls from May and June conducted by Emerson College and the University of New Hampshire, Markey was only leading by five and six points, within the margin of error. But more recent polls from August conducted by YouGov and Suffolk University show Markey with a large advantage. In those polls, the incumbent leads by 28 and 15 points, a comfortable buffer. That could indicate Markey is widening his lead, but without more data, it is difficult to say for certain.

Speaking with the Current, Moulton said he was committed to visiting Nantucket and “showing up,” and that the multi-year delay in the federal investigation into the Vineyard Wind turbine blade failure was “absurd.”

“We can't just shut down clean energy projects, but there are real costs to these wind farms as well that we need to be honest about. As I said before, the fishermen have legitimate concerns,” Moulton said. “We know how to send rockets to the moon. We can figure out why a blade fell.”

The Democratic primary race for the Cape and Islands' District Attorney's office is contested by incumbent Robert Galibois and former prosecutor Michael Giardino, who currently works in the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office. Galibois, a long-time attorney and the first Democrat to serve as the region’s district attorney in over 50 years, has touted his accomplishments during his first term, including hiring more women and the first woman assistant district attorney, and has said one of his top priorities is tackling elder fraud.

Giardino, a political newcomer, has named stability one of his top priorities, claiming that more than half of Galibois’ staff left or retired early in the first two years of his term. He has pressed Galibois over the high turnover at his office, pointing to a letter from nine former Galibois employees who endorsed Giardino.

Giardino has faced criticism over his political affiliations: he unenrolled from the Democratic Party in 2016 and voted for a Republican who he claims was a personal friend in the 2022 race for the position he is now seeking. He has dismissed these criticisms, saying that he is a lifelong Democrat.

There is also a contested Democratic primary race for Nantucket’s representative in the U.S. House of Representatives between long-time incumbent Bill Keating and challenger Craig Swallow, a former bartender and high school history teacher who visited Nantucket for a town hall earlier this month. Swallow is challenging Keating from the left, following in the footsteps of a series of progressive challengers from across the country who have found success in recent months. But with far greater fundraising numbers and name recognition, Keating is heavily favored in the race.

Another notable contested race is the Republican primary for Massachusetts Governor, in which former biotech executive Mike Minogue and venture capitalist Brian Shortsleeve are facing off for the chance to launch a long-shot bid to unseat incumbent Democratic governor Maura Healey. Both men are veterans who have run on fiscal responsibility and tax cuts, but they differ on some key issues, including abortion. Shortsleeve is more supportive of abortion rights than Minogue. Minogue appears to be leading by a healthy margin in the polls.

Early voting on Nantucket is now underway for those wanting to cast their ballot ahead of the Sept. 1st primary. Registered voters can stop by the Nantucket Town & County Building at 16 Broad Street between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to vote early through Friday, August 28th.