Samuel Ruiz-Macias and Mirei S. Saneyoshi, “Ballot Question 3 Seeks to End Single-Party Primaries,” Harvard Crimson, October 29, 2026.
Jonathan R. Cohn, a policy director for Progressive Massachusetts, which has backed the No on 3 campaign, also said that the all-party primary system risks creating a “lockout effect” where one political party is not represented between the two candidates that advance to the general election.
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Cohn also argued that the gubernatorial provision, which prevents governor and lieutenant governor candidates from running individually, would hinder the chances of grassroots gubernatorial candidates advancing past the primaries.
“If people don’t think you can win, why would they sign up to be your running mate, right?” Cohn said. “If you’re a kind of a grassroots or insurgent candidate, you expect to peak later on in that race, and the need to pick a running mate early on is a lot of vetting work.”
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“For a self-described democracy campaign, it’s jarring that it’s pretty much almost entirely funded by private equity executives from Bain Capital and Berkshire Partners,” Cohn said.
