We all thought it was over: the drooping lawn signs, the torn bumper stickers, the lifeless discussions in history classes, and closed voter registration drives were all signals for the end of the 2012 election season. But after all that, Senator John Kerry was confirmed as Secretary of State on January 29, leaving an open seat for the position of Massachusetts Senator. It’s happening all over again: Massachusetts will be having a special election.

It all begins with the primaries. There are three GOP contenders: state representative Dan Winslow, businessman Gabriel Gomez,  and former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan. These, along with both Democratic candidates, state representatives Ed Markey and Stephen Lynch have all gathered substantially more signatures than required to be listed on the ballot for the April 30 primary. Markey is leading with 34,000 according to the Boston Globe.

Despite all the progress, political junkies are still reeling from Scott Brown’s refusal to participate.  Scituate High School senior and AP Government student, Brendan May, said he “was hoping Kerry would get the job so that Scott Brown would have the chance to come back in because I think he’s great for the Republican party, the GOP, but with him dropping out, especially with Massachusetts leaning Democrat traditionally, I don’t think they have much of a shot at winning this election.”

On Tuesday, March 13, the three GOP candidates had their first debate. Many of their stances on the main issues were clarified. WBUR reported that Winslow “seemed to have command of the broadest range of issues” due to his legislative experience, while “Gomez seemed to struggle the most,” as he is used to expressing “his opinions on a broad range of issues, but he now finds himself in a new forum — a highly visible political race — and seems to be struggling to find his voice.” Sullivan “was very knowledgeable on issues related to justice, but did not seem to have as much command of issues outside his expertise.”

While no candidate has presented themselves as a clear winner, or even a replacement for Scott Brown, there is still a month to make an impression on the public. In order to help students make their decision on who to support, a table is included below, listing hot issues and their beliefs on each. This election season may be imprompto and annoying, but it’s important to voice an opinion and vote just as it was last fall.