Letter: Vote No on 'Jungle' Primaries
 |
To the Editor:
They don't call them "jungle primaries" for nothing.
Question 3 on the November ballot would trash two-party primary elections and replace them with California-style, chaotic — and extraordinarily costly — "jungle" primaries that would destroy the very political parties that have kept America stable since Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison created them in the 1790s.
Jungle primaries put all candidates, regardless of party, on one ballot with the top two vote-getters facing off in the general election — even if they're from the same party. That would create chaos, but the real issue is money: Jungle primaries give a distinct advantage to candidates backed by corporate money and the super wealthy. In short, jungle primaries move our primaries from the ballot box to big donor meetings long before campaigning even begins.
When something this radical is proposed, you have to look at who's behind it, who's funding it, and ask "why" they are doing it.
Their philosophical guru is Danielle Allen, a Harvard professor who ran for governor in 2022 but couldn't get 15 percent of the Democratic Convention vote to win the party's endorsement.
The money behind this extreme attack on small "d" democratic politics tells us more. With over $5 million in the bank as of Aug. 28, this is a very well-funded campaign — the lion's share of which came from wealthy Boston-area private equity individuals.
Twenty-two private equity executives gave $3.99 million, or 77 percent of all the money from individuals. Current and former Bain Capital executives contributed $1.92 million, and Berkshire Partners executives put up $1.32 million. In short, 22 rich people put up nearly $4 million to change how five million of us vote. Yes, it seems the ultra-wealthy want to destroy the two-party system that has kept our politics stable for 200 years.
So why are they doing it? It certainly isn't to increase voter participation. We could be doing other things like holding elections on weekends, or not holding elections the day after Labor Day!
No matter how they tap-dance around it, they want the electoral chaos that "jungle" primaries would bring, ending the two-party system, and opening the door to the election of candidates endorsed by oligarchs.
And we're seeing a version of that right here, right now, as Gov. Maura Healy is being viciously attacked by big-money interests.
Lee Harrison
Williamstown, Mass.
Tags: ballot measure, election 2026, primary,
