Less Love for Legislators - MA Democratic Party Convention 2022

This past weekend on June 3-4, the Massachusetts Democratic Party held a convention in Worcester in order to help establish the party’s endorsements for the 2022 state election. In each election, approximately 4,000 votes were cast by delegates, and the results were interesting, to say the least. While there are a number of trends worth noting from the results, one of the most notable is that no current legislators received a majority percentage of delegate votes. In our analysis of each race, we detail why this was the case and how legislative data may lead to a different result in the actual party primary. 

One aspect that must be addressed prior to discussing the results is that the delegates participating in the convention are somewhat skewed. For starters, in order for one to serve as a delegate, there is a mandatory fee of $75 which was required to be paid months before the convention (or one would have to pay an additional $15 late fee). Although fee waivers were given in some cases, this likely created a financial barrier for some individuals who may have wanted to vote. In addition, the percentage of delegates from certain areas of the Commonwealth greatly differed. For example, over double the percentage of delegates from certain Suffolk, Middlesex and Norfolk districts were represented in the votes than those from other districts in the Commonwealth. Taking these factors into account, the electorate for the convention was not truly representative of the Massachusetts public. 

With all this said, this does not mean that the convention’s outcome holds no weight. Many of the 4,000 who voted are those most closely associated with the Democratic Party in Massachusetts, and as such often can sway elections with either their financial or organizational power. One expected result was the endorsement of current Attorney General Maura Healey for governor. As a candidate, Healey has received a number of endorsements thus far, especially from organized labor groups. Her opponent, Democratic Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz has been endorsed by many political organizations, including Progressive Massachusetts, for her work in the legislature. While both candidates boast impressive resumes in state government, it appears that the Democratic Party is pushing hard for Maura Healey to enforce their platform, and the more liberal groups prefer Sonia Chang-Diaz. 

The race for lieutenant governor likewise revealed who the Democratic Party felt were the most qualified candidates. Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll received the largest percentage of votes with 43%, but this was by no means a landslide victory. Both Rep. Tami Gouveia and Sen. Eric Lesser received 23% and 21% of the vote respectively. Had there been a second runoff ballot (Driscoll and Gouveia elected for there not to be one), it is possible that Gouveia would have received more of the votes from Lesser’s supporters. Votes cast for candidates Sen. Adam Hinds and Bret Bero were also not able to be counted in a second ballot, and due to each receiving less than 15% of the total votes, neither will be on the primary ballot this fall. 

In looking at our previous Lt. Governor race breakdown comparing Gouveia, Lesser, and Hinds, it appears that due to voting record and legislation filed, Lesser proved the larger party favorite to Hinds, as by a slight margin Lesser tended to side with party majority more. Seeing as Lesser represents a nearby district to Hinds, this could lead to him receiving a larger amount of his 12% of votes than the other candidates as well, but this won’t be known until the actual primary commences. Meanwhile, Gouveia, the Progressive Massachusetts-endorsed candidate has maintained a more independent record than the Democratic majority while in office, and had been a co-sponsor of far more legislation than Lesser or Hinds. Although she may have received a slight bump due to representing a Middlesex district where more delegates were from, it is likely her advocacy and work with various coalitions that won her more of the vote. However, this all may not matter for Gouveia and Lesser, as they may end up taking more of each other’s vote, which would leave Mayor Kim Driscoll still as the clear frontrunner.

The other race involving a current Massachusetts legislator was the election for State Auditor, where Sen. Diana DiZoglio and Chris Dempsey were the two candidates. This race proved arguably the closest of any from the weekend, which is a large testament to the campaign of DiZoglio. Not only has Chris Dempsey received an endorsement from current state auditor, Suzanne Bump, but he also hails from Suffolk County, which overwhelmingly had the most delegates in attendance. The fact that DiZoglio performed well at the convention shows that her policy efforts have not gone unnoticed, and seeing as she has a greater number of labor organizations endorsing her, the convention result may be flipped in the actual primary.

The other convention elections for State Secretary and Attorney General showed an important shift for the Democratic Party, as candidates Tanisha Sullivan and Andrea Campbell, both Black women, received large percentages of the vote. In the state secretary race, Sullivan beat incumbent William Galvin in a landslide, and if the same result occurs in the fall she will become the Commonwealth’s first female and first person of color as state secretary. Andrea Campbell, who recently ran for mayor of Boston, performed considerably well in the Attorney General race against Quentin Palfrey, who had recently been the party’s 2018 candidate for lieutenant governor. While Palfrey did receive more of candidate Shannon Liss-Riordan’s votes in the second runoff ballot to win the party endorsement over Campbell, this is not entirely reflective of the delegates’ opinion, as nearly 450 less delegates voted on the runoff ballot. Therefore, the attorney general’s race remains a toss-up, but if Campbell was to win she would be the third female attorney general and first person of color to hold the position. 

The results of the Democratic Party convention were clearly very telling of how party leaders feel, but that is not always how the general electorate may vote. With the election heating up, it’s difficult to stay informed on each race. Luckily, InstaTrac is here to help! We have in-depth candidate profiles and coverage available on our site, and for the informed voter, we have every possible word said and vote given in state government from each candidate. For more information or to see a demo of our services, please reach out to info@instatrac.com.

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