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# Top Beacon Hill Democrats Blast Question 3 All-Party Primary Plan
- URL: https://www.newbostonpost.com/top-beacon-hill-democrats-blast-question-3/
- Published: 2026-09-28T20:13:37.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-28T20:13:37.000Z
- Description: Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka are opposing Question 3, which would replace party primaries with an all-party primary system.
- Author: State House News Service
- Tags: News, Massachusetts, Politics, State Government, #lead, #morning-bell, morning-bell, #4

Alison Kuznitz and Ella Adams   
State House News Service

Beacon Hill's top Democrats have qualms with Question 3, the initiative petition that would eliminate party primary elections and institute an all-parties primary system. House Speaker Ron Mariano called the measure "ridiculous" Thursday as he pointed to the dynamic in California. 

"They were all over the place. They're throwing guys off the ballot and on the ballot, and they almost had two Republicans running for governor," Mariano said. "It's just chaos." 

Under a California law that took effect in 2011, the top two vote-getters in a primary move to the general election regardless of their political affiliation. This year, California Democrats had feared that two Republican gubernatorial candidates might advance from the June primary to the general. But come November, Californians can choose between Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton. 

In Massachusetts, Mariano re-aired his grievances about who's footing the petition. 

"It's another one of these ballot questions that's being targeted by a small group of individuals with a lot of money. They're all investment bankers," Mariano said. "They want a way to get more Republicans elected, and this is a much better way."

Senate President Karen Spilka said lawmakers have not discussed tweaking the potential voter law should it pass in November. 

"We'll take a look at it, but I do have concerns about it, that those with the most money will be the ones coming out on top," Spilka said. "And that is not the way we should be running our government. I believe it should be on the merits, not the amount of money that you have or you can raise. So I need to take a good look at that one." 

Sens. Rebecca Rausch, Julian Cyr and Nick Collins, and Reps. Frank Moran, Jack Lewis, John Moran, Steve Owens, Patrick Kearney and David LeBoeuf all joined the ranks of the ballot opposition campaign on Thursday, alongside the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the Boston Teachers Union, Our Revolution MA, the Coalition for Social Justice and Massachusetts Action for Justice.

Opposition committee chair Jordan Berg Powers called the question "a scheme by wealthy, private equity donors to rig our elections in their favor." 

Proponents, which include Sens. John Velis and John Cronin, argue that the question will make elections more competitive and give voters "real choices." 

Velis said that if the question passed, it would "reward candidates for building broad coalitions, answering to everyone and actually delivering results." 

The two major parties have come in for criticism over the years for rules that prevent candidates from appearing on the ballot unless they secure support from a sufficient number of party delegates at election-year conventions.