As voters consider various issues Massachusetts is presenting for the state gubernatorial election, Islanders will also decide whom they want to represent the Democratic and Republican parties in November.
The Massachusetts primary is set for Sept. 1 from 7 am to 8 pm statewide, where voters will elect candidates to run in the Nov. 3 state election. Early voting is set to begin on Saturday, August 22, the last day to register to vote in the primary. The last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot for the primary is Tuesday, August 25.
Among these races, the most local are for the Dukes County Commission, the county’s seven-member legislative body. The ballot showed only three Democratic incumbent candidates, Tristan Israel, Christine Todd, and Richard G. Wharton, more commonly known as Peter Wharton, pulled papers for re-election. But while it may seem four seats will be left empty, some commissioners are still looking for voters’ support in the state election.
Doug Ruskin, a commissioner from West Tisbury, told The Times a “technical glitch” made it so that his paperwork wasn’t submitted by the June deadline. He noted that local town clerks are usually more forgiving, while the state “runs strictly by the book, and makes no room for human error.”
“I plan to run a strong write-in campaign in late October and early November,” Ruskin said, although he’d appear in the state election automatically if he can amass at least 25 write-in votes during the primary.
Among current commissioners, Randy Milch is an unenrolled candidate, and will instead appear in the state election, while Don Leopold is not seeking re-election. Kate Putnam, another commissioner, was not immediately available for comment, though Ruskin said her paperwork is ready for the state election.
Aside from unenrolled candidates and write-in candidates, other slots that won’t appear on primary ballots include nonpartisan seats, like on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC), and nine ballot questions that were selected in July. These will appear during the state election in November.
Tara Whiting-Wells, West Tisbury town clerk, recommended anyone planning a write-in campaign for November, as some residents are considering for a MVC seat, notify town clerks.
“On the back end, it just makes it easier,” Whiting-Wells said, noting that voting machines can’t read hand-written submissions, and those will need to be hand-counted by election staff and volunteers.
There are seven seats on the Democratic ballot that are all but assured to be the deciding election, due to no Republican candidates. But the race that’s captured regional attention is for the seat of Cape and Islands District Attorney. Michael Giardino, an assistant district attorney in Plymouth County, is challenging incumbent Cape and Islands District Attorney Rob Galibois, who was elected in 2022.
The two candidates were on the airwaves for a debate hosted by WCAI earlier this month, where they shared their priorities as candidates, like Galibois’ goal of creating an elder fraud unit, while Giardino championed stability in the contested office for employees. Giardino’s priority partially stemmed from a letter signed by former employees of the district attorney’s office, which cited high turnover from a shift in duties that pushed them away from working directly with victims, claims which Galibois has pushed back on and accused of being politically motivated. And political affiliation was a question Galibois raised against Giardino, who enrolled as a Democrat this year. Giardino had been unenrolled since 2016, and also worked in the Cape and Islands DA’s Office under Robert O’Keefe, predecessor to Galibois, and a Republican. Giardino said he grew up in a Democratic household.
Incumbent Democrats who are running uncontested include Secretary of State William Galvin, State Rep. Thomas Moakley, Cape and Islands State Sen. Julian Cyr, First District Councillor James Ferreira, State Auditor Diana Dizoglio, and Dukes County Register of Probate Diana DeVries.
For some candidates, the primary will be an elimination round before the state election. Republicans Michael Roger Minogue, a U.S. Army veteran and CEO of medical device firm Abiomed, and Brian Shortsleeve, a U.S. Marine veteran who founded venture investment firm M33 Growth, are the two Massachusetts conservatives who want to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, the former state attorney general who was elected to her current seat in 2022.
For the ninth congressional district, R. Tyler Macallister, who formerly served on the Mattapoisett select board for five terms, and is the sole Republican in the primary for this race, will have to wait and see whether Democrats want to keep incumbent Bill Keating, who’s held his current district seat since 2013, or nominate a new candidate in Craig Swallow, a hospitality manager and civic activist in New Bedford.
Likewise, Republican senatorial candidate John Deaton is making another bid to become a senator, and he’ll have to see whether state Democrats will keep the incumbent U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, who served 37 years in the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate in 2013, or Seth Moulton, a U.S. congressman from Salem and a Marine veteran. The Markey-Moulton race is one of the more closely watched statewide races, bringing to the forefront the question of the age difference between the two men and which candidate aligns more closely with progressive policies. Markey and Moulton shared inflammatory exchanges during a debate co-hosted by Boston 25 News and WGBH. The full debate can be watched on YouTube.
Meanwhile, three Republicans will challenge incumbent Democrats in November following uncontested primary races: Shawn Oliver, R, and Kimberly Driscoll, D, for lieutenant governor; Michael Walsh, R, and Andrea Joy Campbell, D, for state attorney general; Elizabeth Dionne, R, and Deborah Goldberg, D, for state treasurer.
Here are the in-person early voting schedules by town for the primaries:
Aquinnah
Polling location: Aquinnah Town Hall at 955 State Road
Dates/times: Saturday, August 22, 9 am to 11 am and 3 pm to 5 pm; Monday, August 24, to Friday, August 28, 10 am to 12 pm.
Town Clerk: Kayla Darcy, 508-645-2304
Chilmark
Polling location: Chilmark Town Hall at 401 Middle Road
Dates/times: Saturday, August 22, 9 am to 11 am and 3 pm to 5 pm; Monday, August 24, to Friday, August 28, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.
Town Clerk: Jennifer Christy, 508-645-2107
Edgartown
Polling location: Edgartown Town Hall at 70 Main St.
Dates/times: Saturday, August 22, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm; Monday, August 24, to Friday, August 28, 1 pm to 3 pm.
Town Clerk: Karen Medeiros, 508-627-6110
Oak Bluffs
Polling location: Oak Bluffs Town Hall at 56 School St.
Dates/times: Saturday, August 22, 9 am to 5 pm; Monday, August 24, to Friday August 28, 9 am to 4 pm.
Town Clerk: Amy Del Torto, 508-693-3554, ext. 120
Tisbury
Polling location: Tisbury Emergency Services Facility at 215 Spring St.
Dates/times: Saturday, August 22, 9 am to 5 pm; Monday, August 24, to Friday, August 28, 12 pm to 4 pm.
Town Clerk: Hillary Conklin, 508-696-4215
West Tisbury
Polling location: West Tisbury Public Safety Building at 454 State Road
Dates/times: Saturday, August 22, 9 am to 5 pm; Monday, August 24, to Friday, August 28, 8 am to 11 am.
Town Clerk: Tara Whiting-Wells, 508-696-0148
