🏆 CONTEST: Pick the winner of the R.I. First Congressional Democratic primary – The Boston Globe

Click here to submit your entry. Feel free to submit as many ballots as you’d like. (As Boston mayor James Michael Curley used to say, Vote early and often.)

A lot has happened in this race since I went on paternity leave in May, but in many ways, a lot has stayed the same.

Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos and former state Representative Aaron Regunberg continue to be considered the frontrunners, while the campaigns of state Senator Sandra Cano and former White House aide Gabe Amo are rounding into shape. You have to assume Don Carlson is somewhere in the mix as well because he’s planning to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money over the next month.

A big question I’ll be thinking about heading into the Sept. 5 primary is the number of votes it will take to win the race. If 40,000 people vote, there’s a chance that 8,000 votes (20 percent) could be enough to pull it out.

All races favor the best organized candidates, but the math game here is especially important.

The ballot signature scandal has undoubtedly been crushing for Matos, but she is still the only statewide officeholder in the field, and she has the building trades boosting her bid.

Regunberg is in a good place because his base is on the vote-rich East Side of Providence, and he’s making the case to anyone who will listen that he’s the most progressive candidate with an actual chance to win.

Cano has won a couple of key union endorsements, and she should perform well in Pawtucket.

For first-timers like Amo and Carlson, it’s still unclear exactly where they’ll find enough votes to pull it off, but they both have the resources to make their case.

For everyone else in the race, finding a way to crack the top five would likely be a huge accomplishment.

We’ll have the contest open until Sept. 4 at 11:59 p.m., so make sure you tell your friends. Once again, you can submit your entry here.

This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.

Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.