Today is election day for Massachusetts primaries. Berkshire voters will be making decisions on key races before the general election on Nov. 8. Some officials, like the sheriff and district attorney, will be decided with today's votes with only democrats running.
Who is on the ballot?
Major countywide races
Democratic primary races for both sheriff and district attorney have been competitive.
Alfred E. "Alf" Barbalunga, chief probation officer at the Southern Berkshire District Court, is challenging the current sheriff, Thomas Bowler, for the job, a six-year term. Bowler is running for his third term.
In the district attorney race, current DA Andrea Harrington is facing off against challenger Timothy Shugrue, a defense attorney.
Shugrue, a Pittsfield resident, worked in the DA's office in the '90s before opening a private practice. Harrington, who lives in Richmond, ran for DA in 2018 on a progressive platform after working as a defense attorney.
There are no Republican candidates for DA or sheriff on the party's primary ballot.
Berkshire delegation in the Statehouse
Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, ran a campaign for lieutenant governor that has since ended, but his senate seat will be open. Paul Mark, D-Peru, currently a state representative for part of Berkshire and Franklin counties, is running for the job against Huff Templeton, a Williamstown resident and activist.
The senate seat covers all of the Berkshires and parts of Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin counties.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts graduate Paula Kingsbury-Evans is challenging state Rep. John Barrett III, D-North Adams, in his reelection campaign for the 1st Berkshire District seat.
Key statewide races
Voters will also make decision on statewide races in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state and auditor. In the Republican primary, there are races for governor and lieutenant governor.
Current Attorney General Maura Healey is running for governor in the Democratic primary. Though state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz's name is also on the ballot, she stopped campaigning in June. Geoff Diehl and Chris Doughty are running for governor in the Republican primary.
In Congress, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, is running unopposed for another two-year term to represent the 1st Congressional District.
Tara Jacobs, a North Adams resident, is running to represent Western Massachusetts on the Governor's Council, a group of eight people elected to serve two-year terms advising the governor on appointments, pardons and commutations, and state treasury warrants. Shawn Allyn, of Agawam, Michael Anthony Fenton, of Springfield, and Jeffrey S. Morneau, of East Longmeadow, are also running.
Where to go to vote
You can input your address into the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website — tinyurl.com/26seukss — to find your polling location and see a sample of what your ballot will look like.