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Massachusetts, Vermont Vote in Presidential Primary Tuesday

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Voters in Massachusetts and Vermont will finally get their chance to weigh in on the candidates running for party nominations for president. 
 
They'll have a long list of candidates to chose from on the Democratic side but recent events have whittled active campaigns down to just five.
 
As of Monday afternoon, only former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts' own U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren are still in it to win. In Vermont, the Democratic candidates also include Mark Stewart of Farmington, Conn.
 
The number of failed campaigns is much longer, with both South Bend, Idaho, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar joining the also-rans after disappointing performances in the South Carolina primary. Those who dropped out before South Carolina are former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, New Jersey U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, Colorado U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, former U.S. HUD Secretary Julian Castro, billionaire Tom Steyer, former Maryland U.S. Rep. John K. Delaney, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, and spiritual author Marianne Williamson.
 
Anyone eligible to vote in the Democratic primary can cast a ballot for any of the candidates listed, but voters should be aware if their preferred candidate is no longer in the race. The deadline for candidates to have their names added to the ballot was Jan. 3 and the last day to withdraw was Jan. 10. 
 
The March 3 primary is called "Super Tuesday" because 14 states and commonwealths will be deciding how 1,375 delegates will be apportioned. In addition to Massachusetts and Vermont, voters in Alabaman, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Utah will be casting ballots. 
 
Polls in Massachusetts are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Find out where your polling station is here. It's suggested you bring an ID if you're voting for the first time, your registration has been inactive, there may be some question to your status or you have to complete a provisional ballot. Check if you're registered to vote here.
 
In Massachusetts, registered voters enrolled in political parties can only vote in that party's primary. Unenrolled voters can chose one primary in which to participate: Democratic, Republican, Green-Rainbow or Libertarian.
 
Polls in Vermont can open anytime between 5 a.m. and 10 am. and are open until 7 p.m.
 
Vermont has open primaries so any registered voter can select any one primary to vote in; Vermont is holding only Democratic and Republican primaries.
 
Below is a list of other Massachusetts primary candidates.
 
Democratic
State Committeeman Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden District: Sherwood Guernsey II
State Committeewoman Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden District: Marietta Rapetti Cawse
 
Republican
President: President Donald Trump, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, perennial candidate Roque "Rocky" de la Fuente of California; Joe Walsh's name is still on the ballot in Massachusetts but he has dropped out.
 
State Committeeman Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden District: Michael F. Case and Tyler James Hastings
State Committeewoman Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden District: Robin S. Almgren and Christine M. Canning
 
Green Rainbow
President: Dario Hunger, Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza-Curry, Kent Mesplay and Howard Hawkins
 
Libertarian
President: Arvin Vohra, Vermin Love Supreme, Jacob George Hornberger, Samuel Joseph Robb, Dan Taxation Is Theft Behrman, Kimberly Margaret Ruff, Kenneth Reed Armstrong, Adam Kokesh, Jo Jorgensen and Max Abramson

Tags: election 2020,   primary,   

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Q&A with State Representative Challenger Andrew Fitch

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — On Sept. 1, voters in the First Berkshire District will decide whether they want to send a new representative to Beacon Hill in Boston.
 
Andrew Fitch, currently a city councilor in the district's largest municipality — and the commonwealth's smallest city — is challenging former North Adams Mayor John Barrett III, who won the First Berkshire seat in a 2017 special election, in the Democratic Party primary.
 
There is no Republican on the primary ballot for the First Berkshire seat so the primary will effectively be the election for the seat. 
 
The two candidates met for their only debate on Aug. 13 at Williams College. iBerkshires.com reached out to both candidates to follow up on some of the points raised in the debate and get their thoughts on some other issues facing the district.
 
Below are excerpts from a conversation with challenger Andrew Fitch:
 
Question: From the very beginning, you talked about the campaign as a listening experience, and this week you're continuing that with the bike tour …
 
Andrew Fitch: Knocking on doors that have never been knocked on before. … I was riding through, I believe it was Hinsdale coming into Windsor, and they started to yell at me, 'No!' And then the guy was like, 'Wait a second. That's Andrew Fitch.' They actually knew who I was, and they were actually wanting to chat with me.
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