Today, for the first time, New England voters will choose presidential nominees en masse in a regional primary.

Dubbed the Yankee Primary by organizers, the contest will involve all of the New England states except New Hampshire, which wanted to preserve its traditional status as the host of the election season's first primary and held its contest last month.

A total of 208 delegates are at stake in today's contests, which include the Yankee Primary, primaries in Colorado, Georgia and Maryland and party caucuses in Washington and Minnesota.

Of these delegates, 107 come from the New England states. All the Yankee states except for Maine will for the first time have winner-take-all primaries, where only the top scoring candidate receives delegates.

"As the group pares down and gets smaller, the Yankee Primary may begin the winnowing process," says Paul Y. Watanabe, a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts in Boston and expert on Bay State politics.

New England's move to a regional primary radically alters the issues involved in the primary process, from campaign strategy to regional clout. The origins of the switch offer an interesting insight into political motivations and the future of the electoral process.

Why a Regional Primary?

The reasons behind the sudden switch to a regional primary are many, but the true motivation is unknown. Some political observers believe Gov. William F. Weld '66 pushed the Yankee Primary to boost the candidacy of California Gov. Pete Wilson, whom Weld had endorsed last summer.

According to observers, Weld hoped he could use his influence throughout New England to provide Wilson with the lion's share of the region's delegates.

The winner-take-all nature of the primaries would have given Wilson, with the help of the well-respected Weld, a large advantage over his opponents were he to win the New England primaries.

"The idea of Massachusetts' being a winner-take-all primary, in Weld's eyes, was to deliver all of Massachusetts to Wilson," Watanabe says.

But Wilson withdrew from the presidential race in September, and Weld's grand plan for the Yankee Primary dissolved.

Today, regional politicians present the Yankee Primary as a move to increase New England's clout nationally.

"Originally, we were on March 12, Super Tuesday, and we thought Massachusetts would get lost," says Jack McCarthy, chief of staff to Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin. "Most of the other states are farther south, and New England was all spread out."

With Wilson no longer a factor, observers say the new format should benefit Sen. Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.), who has received the backing of most of the region's Republican leadership, including Weld, Connecticut Gov. John Rowland and Sens. William Cohen (R-Maine) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).

"New England could put a serious road block in the way in the way of a [Patrick J.] Buchanan, [Malcolm S. "Steve"] Forbes [Jr.], or certainly a Lamar [Alexander] campaign," says Bill Hansen, political director of the Massachusetts Republican party.