PRIMARY SPECIAL: THE DIG DOES DEMOCRATIC ENDORSEMENTS. KIND OF.

There’s a reason that we don’t run stars or letter grades along with film and album write-ups in the Dig. People are lazy enough; they don’t need Cliff’s Notes for 80-word reviews. Our writers work their tails off, have important things to say. We like when folks read them.

Which is more or less the same approach we’re taking in regard to previewing next Tuesday’s statewide Democratic primary.* Instead of merely boosting some specific candidates in the traditional endorsement sense, we decided to wax critically on the merits of many so that you can better devise answers on your own. Herein lies much more of a character survey than a policy comparison, but while hardcore wonks will probably be less enthralled by our two cents than sabermetrics geeks at T-ball games, we nevertheless hope to spark conversation for both novices and know-it-alls. With that said, before we lose you altogether …

While it’s somewhat of a redundant exercise to pick through every House and Senate seat that’s up for grabs, it is important to note how many incumbents will run uncontested next week and, this being the Bluest State and all, likely coast through the general election in November. Half of the state senators whose districts fall in Boston city limits face no challenger at all, while nearly two in five House members will win their party’s nominations just for showing up. In light of those depressing numbers, two races still caught our attention, if not for their importance then for how they represent divergent paths toward overdue disruption in the State House. The first is Eric “Pops” Esteves, the chair of the NAACP’s political action committee in Boston and someone who has shown up on the front lines of community problems for years. State Rep. Gloria Fox, who has held the 7th Suffolk seat Esteves wants since Michael Dukakis was governor, has served her constituents well and certainly stood up to power as an advocate for underserved Bostonians. But with aggressive gentrifying forces barreling through Dudley Square from all angles, the area needs fresh blood at the helm to make the long haul equitable for those who call Roxbury home.

While Esteves could bring the diplomatic type of reinvigorated energy the legislature needs, the candidate we have in mind for Somerville and Medford is of a slightly different sort. The race to replace Carl Sciortino in the 34th Middlesex has a range of talent – a progressive voice, a devoted advocate for public schools, and also a hopeful with the right idea on substance abuse in Erin DiBenedetto. Of the bunch, however, we’re most impressed with underdog attorney Craig Rourke, a native of Winter Hill who has impressed us to believe that he would join the growing choir hollering about how business-as-usual threatens to undermine the hipster utopia that Somerville municipal officials have been advertising.

On to Suffolk County sheriff, which should probably be appointed since this isn’t the Wild West. You have two choices here: Doug Bennett, whose hand-painted wooden signs are hung from Eastie to Allston, or Steve Tompkins, who is already in the job. This truly is a pick between the lesser of two duds, as Tompkins has a reputation as a hack and bully, while Bennett has essentially been shunned by the political establishment. Your best bet for this one is to hold your nose, close your eyes, and play Pin the Tail on the Ballot.

As for statewide offices … it’s hard to ignore the incredible support that Deb Goldberg has gained in her race to clock the Democratic nom for treasurer. Much respect to Barry Finegold and Tom Conroy, the former of whom lacks in executive experience but logged several years on the House Ways and Means Committee and has a firm grasp of the state’s pension fund and debt situation. But Goldberg, a Brookline selectwoman, has endorsements ranging from the IBEW, to the Rainbow Times, to the Massachusetts chapter of the AFT, the latter of which especially speaks volumes at a moment when our public schools are under attack. On a similar riff, workers have a friend in state attorney general hopeful Warren Tolman, a Beacon Hill insider who can be trusted to break the balls of crooked business goons and bankers. Not to discount former hoops champ Maura Healey, a current assistant AG whose prosecutorial gusto is of growing local legend for good reason.

Next up is the battle for lieutenant governor, historically considered the biggest joke going other than the race for seats on the Governor’s Council, for which we always recommend writing in your own name. Still, we like two of the candidates enough to spread some love. Steve Kerrigan, a longtime blue team operative who helped design the DNC in Charlotte, appears to be a competent behind-the-scenes guy who’d be comfortable in the thankless (but potentially important, we believe) LG role. Further to the left on the political spectrum, however, we also support Leland Cheung, who we have given several kudos to for advocating on behalf of medical marijuana patients.

Which brings us to the big dance. The one with brash competitors who have shamelessly bombarded you for the last few weeks and even months, groveling for funds and crashing through your flatscreen. The three remaining Dems gunning for governor are easily distinguishable, both for their myriad unique accomplishments and in the way in which they’ve so far been regarded by voters. Martha Coakley, the current state attorney general, has been the frontrunner since the starter pistol popped, and at the time of this writing is still trucking. Despite her reputation as an impersonal prosecutor, the AG has been plenty friendly on the trail and even passionate when given the right topic. Behind Coakley in both poll numbers and name recognition, small business honcho and Massachusetts Treasurer Steve Grossman is the insider’s insider, amassing enough credit in the Democratic piggy bank over the years to push him this far in the race. Thing is, despite his entitlement and ownership class aura, Grossman is an intellectual and impressively progressive on key issues like employment, as well as a candidate who, not unlike Coakley, appears prepared to bring at least some of the reform needed to move us ahead.

Of the lot, we would be lying if we said that either the treasurer or AG excites us quite like Don Berwick. Though it’s impossible for any newcomer to electoral politics to cause much of a stir in a race so few people care about, the former top Obamacare administrator has won many hearts and minds, including ours, with his bitter honesty and forthcoming rejection of more neoliberal ideas that coddle corporate oppressors. Berwick is clearly the no bullshit candidate, as he’s revealed on every front from medical marijuana to casinos, the latter of which he recently labeled “predators of the poor.” In other words, he’s the kind of politician who would probably fare well if young and open-minded people voted in state primaries. It’s on you.

*-There’s of course a statewide GOP primary as well, and it’s true that some curmudgeonly Republicans are among the the inside dissidents holding the Beacon Hill establishment accountable these days. Nevertheless, we’ll reserve judgment on their moderates and nutcases alike until the general election in November. The same goes for the independents, though chances are you’ll hear from us even before then about gubernatorial contender Evan Falchuk of the United Independent Party. We’ll also probably give an outgoing kick in the pants to venture capitalist candidate Jeff McCormick, who even the VC-loving Globe has cast into the pile of discarded political plutocrats alongside Celtics ball boy Steve Pagliuca.

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