“Why is this primary so late? I’m confused as The Green Papers said it was in March. Is this a runoff?”
Massachusetts local primaries are always in September. The March primary was for the presidential race, which is only every four year.
Some states combine their presidential and local primaries, others do not.
As an example, New Hampshire always holds the first presidential primary, in either late January or early February. But their local primary is next Tuesday, September 10th.
And elections were never as long as they are now. So choosing candidates in September for a November election used to be more common, especially in New England, the oldest part of the country.
“BTW...... the MAGA challenger prevailed over the pqrty Republican”
The same happened in 2022 throughout New England. The Establishment was shocked. None of them won (this is New England) but a lot of the electorate are done with voting for the pantywaists.