Massachusetts Sets Order of Candidates on Primary Ballot

BOSTON (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Jim Gilmore may be low in the polls, but he’ll be on top of the GOP presidential primary ballot in Massachusetts.

Secretary of State William Galvin presided Tuesday over a Statehouse drawing to determine ballot order for the March 1 primary.

Following Gilmore on the ballot will be fellow GOP candidates Lindsey Graham, Donald J. Trump, Ted Cruz, George Pataki, Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina, Rick Santorum, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and John R. Kasich.

The top Democrat candidate on the ballot will be Bernie Sanders, followed by Martin O’Malley and Hillary Clinton.

Six candidates will appear on the Green-Rainbow Party ballot.

Under state law, presidential primaries are the only elections requiring a drawing to establish the order in which candidates’ names appear.