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.

Observers also say Buchanan's lack of strong support in the region will manifest itself in the returns.

"I can't imagine that Buchanan would do terribly well," says Pat Longo, vice chair of the Connecticut Republican Party. "We are an export state."

Despite the rumors of Weld's interest in a regional contest, the New England secretaries of state are presenting the Yankee Primary as a joint project of their own design.

Their intention, they say, is to increase the importance of the region in the presidential race and to encourage the candidates to address regions-pecific issues.

"It made sense to regionalize," McCarthy says. "A lot of issues were the same, and we could have the candidates talk about what we were interested in."

In Maine, which consistently has the highest voter turnout rate of any state, officials hope the regional primary will give the state and the area a higher profile.

Effects of Regionalization

So far, Diamond says, the new primary structure has lived up to its billing and brought more exposure to his state.

"We've seen considerably more campaigning this year," Diamond says.

Although it will not be known until after the election whether candidates spent more on advertising in the region for this year's primaries than in the past, Longo says campaigning this year has been much more active than normal.

Since last weekend, Dole, Alexander and Forbes have each visited the Constitution State, Longo says.

"It's all about clout," he says. "Connecticut is now a pretty serious block."

In Massachusetts, the media blitz normally associated with last month's New Hampshire primary was larger than normal, a change McCarthy attributes to the new regional primary.

"While they were up in New Hampshire they saturated the Massachusetts market more than usual," McCarthy says.

The Yankee Primary's success in terms of forcing candidates to address New England's particular economic concerns is still under debate, but officials say the move has been at least partially successful in that respect.

"They're addressing [our issues] to a degree, but never as much as you want," Diamond says. "But the [economic] issues are being heard. At least we had a chance to approach the candidates."

Organizers hope the increased visibility associated with the Yankee Primary will translate into higher voter turnout.

"Making people feel that their vote in the primary process is important is good for the party because it's good for grass roots," Hansen says. "It gets them interested."

A Possible Trend

If the Yankee Primary meets its objectives, political observers may have to consider whether the primary process may be moving away from individual state primaries toward regionalization.

"It would be better for the candidates," says Maxine Isaacs, an adjunct lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government. "They wouldn't have to jump around a lot, and it's easier for the media."

But Isaacs says regionalization--if handled haphazardly--might give some regions an unfair advantage in the presidential selection process.

"The only fair way would be to rotate regions randomly" in terms of assigning primary dates, she says.

Watanabe fears that regional primaries may lead to the selection of candidates who prove unviable in a general election.

"Regional primaries have inherent limitations," he says. "They can lead to strong regional candidates that may not have national appeal."

Instead, Watanabe proposes having a limited number of "primary days," where voters in selected states across the country would make their choice.

"What is interesting is the idea of having primary days where there are different primaries all over the country," Watanabe says. "That used to be difficult before the age in which most of the campaigning is not done in person anyway."

The nation's secretaries of state have formed a committee, of which Massachusetts' Galvin is a member, to consider changes to the primary schedule. The Yankee Primary, if it goes well, may send a signal to the country that regional primaries are a viable election reform, McCarthy says.

"They may try to have primaries on the same day, almost regional," McCarthy says. "They might use the Yankee Primary as a model."Crimson File PhotoWILLIAM F. WELD '66