ELECTION 2022 PREVIEW

Here are the candidates and referendum questions on ballots for the Nov. 8 federal and state elections across the region.

Because of space limitations, uncontested races are not included. A guide to political party abbreviations is at right. Incumbents are marked with an asterisk (*). Polls are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Massachusetts, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in New York and at least 10 a.m. (earlier in many locations) to 7 p.m. in Vermont. Voter registration deadlines are Oct. 29 in Massachusetts, Oct. 14 in New York and Nov. 8 (Election Day) in Vermont.

Early in-person voting is available Oct. 22 through Nov. 4 in Massachusetts and Oct. 29 through Nov. 6 in New York. Mail-in ballots in Massachusetts must be postmarked by Nov. 8. Mail-in ballots in Vermont must be received by Nov. 8; the state recommends mailing them by Oct. 31 or delivering them in person after that.

 

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MASSACHUSETTS

 

GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
Geoff Diehl and Leah Allen (R)
Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll (D)
Kevin Reed and Peter Everett (L)

 

ATTORNEY GENERAL
Andrea Joy Campbell (D)
James R. McMahon III (R)

SeCRETARY OF STATE
Rayla Campbell (R)
* William Francis Galvin (D)
Juan Sanchez (GR)

 

STATE TREASURER
Cristina Crawford (L)
* Deborah B. Goldberg (D)

 

STATE AUDITOR
Anthony Amore (R)
Gloria A. Caballero-Roca (GR)
Diana DiZoglio (D)
Dominic Giannone III (i)
Daniel Riek (L)

 

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, 1st District
Dean James Martilli (R)
* Richard E. Neal (D)

Governor’s Council, 8th District
John M. Comerford (R)
Tara J. Jacobs (D)

 

STATE SENATE
(Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin & Hampshire District)
Paul W. Mark (D)
Brendan M. Phair (i)

State representative
Third Berkshire District
Michael Silvio Lavery (GR)
* William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D)

Ballot Propositions

Question 1 -- Income tax constitutional amendment
A Yes vote would amend the state constitution to establish a 4 percent income tax on the portion of taxable income in excess of $1 million, beginning with tax year 2023. The threshold for the tax would be adjusted upward annually to account for inflation. The amendment specifies that revenues raised from the tax would be used for education and transportation.
State lawmakers have already backed the proposal by wide margins in two successive legislative sessions, so approval by voters is the final step toward enactment.

Question 2 -- Regulation of dental insurance
A Yes vote would enact a new law requiring dental insurance companies to spend at least 83 percent of premiums on member dental expenses and quality improvements rather than on administrative expenses.
Supporters say the law would ensure better coverage for patients while reducing corporate waste. Opponents claim it would prompt companies to raise insurance rates.

Question 3 -- Licensing for alcohol sales
A Yes vote would grandually increase the number of licenses a single retailer could have for beer and wine sales from the current cap of nine locations to as many as 18 by 2031.
The proposal was put forth by the Massachusetts Package Store Association, which bills it as a compromise with convenience store chains that have been pushing for the right to sell beer and wine more widely.
But the ballot question is opposed by chains such as Cumberland Farms, which currently is allowed to sell beer and wine at only nine of its roughly 200 stores in the state. These retailers want broader changes to the state’s system of regulating alcohol sales.

Question 4 -- Eligibility for driver’s licenses
A Yes vote would support a law the Legislature passed earlier this year allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses if they meet the state’s other licensing requirements. The new law, which the Legislature overrode Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto to pass, allows drivers to use a valid foreign passport or certain consular documents to prove their identity, as long as they can verify residency in the state, pass required tests and buy insurance.
Proponents say the law will reduce the number of uninsured drivers and hit-and-run accidents, citing the experience of 17 other states with similar laws.
Opponents, who petitioned for a statewide vote, say the law effectively rewards people who’ve come to the country illegally. A No vote would repeal the law, which otherwise is scheduled to take effect in July 2023.

OVERVIEW
With Republican Gov. Charlie Baker stepping down after two terms, Democrat Maura Healey, now the state attorney general, is considered the heavy favorite to win the state’s top job. The GOP candidate, Geoff Diehl, is a former state representative who lost in a landslide when he challenged U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in 2018. Diehl has the endorsement of former president Donald Trump, but that may not be an advantage in a heavily Democratic state where Trump garnered less than one-third of the vote two years ago.
Despite its blue complexion, however, Massachusetts has a history of electing moderate Republican governors. If Healey wins, she would be only the second Democratic governor since 1990.
In the race for the attorney general seat being vacated by Healey, voters in last month’s Democratic primary chose Andrea Joy Campbell, a former Boston City Council president who would become the first Black woman to hold the position. She faces GOP lawyer James McMahon III, who lost to Healey four years ago.
Locally, the legislative delegation from Berkshire County will be reshuffled after redistricting eliminated one of the area’s four seats in the state House. The county’s year-round population declined slightly over the past decade while much of eastern Massachusetts grew rapidly.
After new legislative maps put Reps. Paul Mark, D-Becket, and William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, in the same district, Mark opted to run for the area’s lone state Senate seat, where incumbent Adam Hinds is stepping down. Mark easily won a primary last month against Huff Templeton of Williamstown.
Incumbent Reps. John Barrett III, D-North Adams, and Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, are running unopposed.
North Adams School Committee member Tara Jacobs might bring a rare Berkshires voice to the Governor’s Council after winning an upset in last month’s four-way Democratic primary.
And Pittsfield lawyer Timothy Shugrue is now unopposed for Berkshire district attorney after handily defeating incumbent Andrea Harrington in the Democratic primary. Harrington was elected four years ago on a platform of progressive criminal justice reforms, but some allies from that campaign contended she had failed to deliver. Shugrue enjoyed strong support from area police unions.

 

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NEW YORK

GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
* Kathy C. Hochul and Antonio Delgado (D, WF)
Lee Zeldin and Alison Esposito (R, C)

 

STATE COMPTROLLER
* Thomas P. DiNapoli (D, WF)
Paul Rodriguez (R, C)

 

ATTORNEY GENERAL
Michael Henry (R, C)
* Letitia A. James (D, WF)

 

U.S. SENATOR
Joe Pinion (R, C)
Diane Sare (i)
* Charles E. Schumer (D, WF)

 

STATEWIDE BALLOT proposition
Question 1 asks voters whether to approve a $4.2 billion environmental bond act to support capital projects for flood risk reduction, open space and land conservation and recreation and water quality improvements and infrastructure.

 

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE -- 19th District
(Columbia and 10 other counties west of the Hudson)
Marcus Molinaro (R, C)
Josh Riley (D, WF)

 

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE -- 20th District
(Saratoga, Albany and Schenectady counties plus the city of Troy)
Elizabeth L. Joy (R, C)
* Paul D. Tonko (D, WF)

 

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE -- 21ST District
(Warren and Washington counties, Rensselaer County except Troy, plus 12 other counties to the north and west)
Matt Castelli (D, i)
* Elise M. Stefanik (R, C)

 

State Supreme Court Justice -- 3rd District
(Columbia and Rensselaer plus five other counties)
(3 seats, 14- year terms)
Heidi Thais Cochrane (D)
Megan K. Galligan (D)
Sharon A. Graff (D)
Thomas J. Marcelle (R, C)

 

State Supreme Court Justice -- 4TH District
(Saratoga, Warren, Washington plus eight other counties)
(3 seats, 14- year terms)
Teneka Frost (D)
Richard A. Kupferman (R)
Allison M. McGahay (R, C)
* Robert J. Muller (D, C)
Chris Obstarczyk (R)
Vincent W. Versaci (D, C)

STATE SENATE

41st district (Columbia, Greene and parts of Dutchess and Ulster counties)
* Michelle Hinchey (D, WF)
* Susan J. Serino (R, C, i)

 

43rd district (Rensselaer County, most of Washington County and northwestern Albany County)
Jacob C. Ashby (R, C)
Andrea Smyth (D, WF)

 

44th district (Saratoga County and part of Schenectady County)
Michelle Ostrelich (D, WF)
* James N. Tedisco (R, C)

 

45th district (Warren, Essex, Clinton, Franklin and parts of Washington and St. Lawrence counties)
Jean A. Lapper (D)
* Daniel G. Stec (R, C)

STATE ASSEMBLY

 

106th district (parts of Columbia and Dutchess counties)
* Didi Barrett (D)
Brandon Craig Gaylord (R, C)

112th district (parts of Saratoga, Schenectady and Fulton counties)
Andrew McAdoo (D, WF)
* Mary Beth Walsh (R, C)

 

113th district (parts of Saratoga, Washington counties)
David Catalfamo (R, C)
* Carrie Woerner (D)

 

114th district (Warren, Essex and parts of Washington and Saratoga counties)
* Daniel G. Stec (R, C, I)
Kathryn K. Wilson (WF)

 

OVERVIEW
Democratic incumbents are the heavy favorites in every statewide race in New York, in no small part because of their party’s strong advantage in voter enrollment.
The most closely watched races this year are for U.S. representative and state Senate, thanks to a court-ordered redistricting plan adopted earlier this year. The court’s new maps created an unusually large number of districts in which the number of voters aligned with each major party is nearly even.

Locally, at least one U.S. House seat and as many as four state Senate seats could be up for grabs.

In the newly configured 19th Congressional District, which stretches from Columbia County westward to Ithaca, Republican Marc Molinaro, the Dutchess County executive, is competing against Democrat Josh Riley, a lawyer from the Southern Tier, for an open seat. The race is attracting national attention and dollars.

Molinaro originally was considered the favorite, and he enjoys higher name recognition after mounting an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2018. But in August, he lost a special election he’d been expected to win. That race, in the old 19th district, was to fill out the remainder of the term of former Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-Rhinebeck, who resigned after being appointed lieutenant governor. Democrat Pat Ryan, who defeated Molinaro in the special election after making protection of abortion rights a cornerstone of his campaign, is now running for re-election in the new 18th district, just to the south in the Hudson Valley.

Following a national GOP strategy, Molinaro has sought to tap into voter discontent with inflation and other economic problems. Democrats are hoping Ryan’s victory in the special election offers lessons for Riley, who at one time was an aide to the late Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Saugerties, in a district that covered much of the same territory. Among nonpartisan analysts, as of late September, both the Cook Political Report and Politico rated the 19th district race a tossup, while Inside Elections rated it as tilting Democratic.

The new congressional map appears to have preserved or even strengthened the advantages of incumbent Reps. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, and Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, in their respective districts.

But the outcome is far from clear in several state Senate districts in the region.
Incumbent Sens. Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties, and Sue Serino, R-Hyde Park, are battling each other after they were both drawn into the new 41st district in the Hudson Valley.
To the north, the new 43rd district created an open seat covering all of Rensselaer County, most of Washington County and the northwestern corner of Albany County. Assemblyman Jake Ashby, R-Castleton, is vying for the seat with Democrat Andrea Smyth, who is executive director of the New York State Coalition for Children’s Mental Health Services.

In the 44th Senate District, Republican incumbent James Tedisco faces a challenge from Democrat Michelle Ostrelich, a Schenectady County legislator whom he easily defeated in a race four years ago. But the newly redrawn district, which now encompasses all of Saratoga County plus the city of Schenectady, has many more Democratic voters than before.

And in the North Country, incumbent Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, faces a challenge from Democrat Jean Lapper, a certified public accountant from Queensbury, in a redrawn 45th district that is less heavily Republican than before.

 

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VERMONT

GOVERNOR
Peter Duval (i) of Underhill
Kevin Hoyt (i) of Bennington
Bernard Peters (i) of Irasburg
* Phil Scott (R) of Berlin
Brenda Siegel (D, P) of Newfane

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
Joe Benning (R) of Lyndon
Ian G. Diamondstone (GM) of Putney
David Zuckerman (D) of Hinesburg

 

U.S. SENATOR
Mark Coester (i) of Westminster
Natasha Diamondstone-Kohout (GM) of Dummerston
Stephen Duke (i) of Calais
Dawn Marie Ellis (i) of Burlington
Ms. Cris Ericson (i) of Chester
Gerald Malloy (R) of Weathersfield
Kerry Patrick Raheb (i) of Bennington
Peter Welch (D) of Norwich

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Becca Balint (D) of Brattleboro
Matt Druzba (i) of Burlington
Liam Madden (R) of Rockingham
Adam Ortiz (i) of Rutland City
Ericka Redic (L) of Burlington
Luke Talbot (i) of Brighton

 

STATE TREASURER
H. Brooke Paige (R) of Washington
Mike Pieciak (D) of Winooski

 

SECRETARY OF STATE
Sarah Copeland Hanzas (D) of Bradford
H. Brook Paige (R) of Washington

 

AUDITOR OF ACCOUNTS
* Doug Hoffer (D) of Burlington
Richard “Rick” Morton (R) of Brattleboro

 

ATTORNEY GENERAL
Charity R. Clark (D) of Williston
Michael Tagliavia (R) of Corinth

STATEWIDE BALLOT QUESTIONS

Proposal 1 -- Reproductive rights
A Yes vote would amend the state constitution to guarantee a right to personal reproductive autonomy. The proposed amendment, known as Article 22, specifies that “an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy .. shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”
Proponents say the amendment would protect abortion rights that are in jeopardy because of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and the language of the proposal is intended to protect individual choice regarding contraception and a right to refuse sterilization.

Proposal 2 -- Slavery and indentured servitude
A Yes vote would amend a portion of the state constitution that prohibits slavery, removing clauses that allowed for exceptions to that prohibition.
Although Vermont prohibited slavery from its founding in 1777, its constitution provides exceptions for people under 21 and those “bound by the person’s own consent ... or bound by law for the payment of debts, damages, fines, costs or the like.” This proposal would remove that language.

 

STATE SENATE

Rutland District (three seats)
* Brian “BC” Collamore (R) of Rutland Town
Joshua Ferguson (D) of Fair Haven
Bridgette Remington (D) of Rutland Town
Anna Tadio (D) of Rutland City
David Weeks (R) of Proctor
Terry K. Williams (R) of Poultney

 

STATE HOUSE

Bennington District 1 (towns of Readsboro, Searsburg, Stamford, Woodford and part of Pownal)
* Nelson Brownell (D) of Pownal
Brian Busa (R) of Readsboro
Bennington District 3 (Shaftsbury, Glastenbury and part of Sunderland)
* David K. Durfee (D) of Shaftsbury
Victor K. Harwood Jr. (R) of Shaftsbury
Bennington District 4 (two seats; towns of Arlington, Manchester, Sandgate and part of Sunderland)
* Seth Bongartz (D) of Manchester
Joe Gervais (R) of Arlington
* Kathleen James (D) of Manchester
Bennington District 5 (two seats; parts of Bennington and Pownal)
Jim Carroll (D) of Bennington
* Mary A. Morrissey (R) of Bennington
* Michael Nigro (D) of Bennington

Rutland-Bennington District (Middletown Springs, Pawlet, Rupert, Tinmouth and part of Wells)
* Sally Achey (R)
Robin Chesnut-Tangerman (D)

Rutland District 2 (two seats; Clarendon, Wallingford, West Rutland and part of Rutland Town)
* Thomas “Tom” Burditt (R) of West Rutland
Ken Fredette (D) of Wallingford
* Arthur Peterson (R) of Clarendon
Dave Potter (D) of Clarendon

Rutland District 3 (town of Castleton)
Mary Droege (D) of Castleton
Jarrod E. Sammis (R) of Castleton

Rutland District 6 (part of Rutland City)
* Mary E. Howard (D)
Cynthia “Cindy” Laskevich (R)

 

BENNINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF
Beau Alexander Sr. (i) of Shaftsbury
James A. Gulley Jr. (D) of Bennington
Joel R. Howard Jr. (R) of Pownal

 

OVERVIEW
The decision by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy to retire after 48 years in Washington has set off a cascade of changes in Vermont’s political landscape this year, as a series of other longtime officeholders opted either to seek higher office or retire.

At the same time, new legislative district maps and a wave of legislative retirements will necessarily mean lots of new faces in Montpelier in January.

One constant in all this change is Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who’s seen as the heavy favorite as he campaigns for a fourth term against Democratic activist Brenda Siegel.

But apart from the governor’s race, there is no incumbent in six of the seven other offices being filled in statewide elections this year.

Longtime U.S. Rep. Peter Welch is running on the Democratic ticket to succeed Leahy in the Senate, and nonpartisan analysts rate him as the prohibitive favorite to keep the seat in Democratic hands. Scott and several other prominent Republicans were supporting Cristina Nolan, a former U.S. attorney from Burlington, hoping her moderate record could make the Senate race competitive, but GOP voters in the August primary instead chose Gerald Malloy, a retired Army major and conservative firebrand who ran to Nolan’s right.

For the U.S. House seat Welch is vacating, Democrats in the August primary chose Becca Balint, the state Senate president, while Republicans picked Liam Madden, a former Marine Corps sergeant who, after leaving the military, was a leader of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
In the race for lieutenant governor, Democrat David Zuckerman is trying to reclaim the seat he left two years ago to challenge Scott’s re-election as governor. He faces competition from Republican state Sen. Joe Benning of Caledonia County. Lt. Gov. Molly Gray, who succeeded Zuckerman two years ago, opted to run for U.S. House this year but lost to Balint in the primary.
For secretary of state, state Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas of Bradford won the Democratic primary to succeed Jim Condos, who chose not to seek re-election. Hanzas faces opposition from perennial GOP candidate H. Brooke Paige.

For state treasurer, incumbent Beth Pearce announced her retirement earlier this year, citing health issues. The Democratic candidate to succeed her is Mike Pieciak, the state’s former commissioner of financial regulation, who has served under governors of both parties. The GOP candidate is Paige.

And for the state attorney general seat from which TJ Donovan resigned this summer, Democrat Charity Clark, Donovan’s former chief of staff, faces Michael Tagliavia.
-- Compiled by Fred Daley