At the Massachusetts Democratic Party Endorsing Convention at Worcester’s DCU Center on June 3, City Councilor Josh Zakim scored a major coup when he received the party’s endorsement over longtime incumbent Bill Galvin in the race for the Secretary of State.
Zakim, a 34-year-old Back Bay resident, received 55 percent of the delegates’ votes, which will send both him and Galvin, who has held the seat since 1994, to the Sept. 4 Primary.
“I’m incredibly grateful and humbled to earn the endorsement of the delegates,” Zakim said. “It’s a big step forward, but it’s only a step. There are nearly three months until the Primary…and Secretary Galvin is a savvy campaigner who has millions of dollars in the bank. We’re excited and energized by the convention results, but we know we have a lot more work to do.”
Kenzie Bok, chair of the Boston Ward 5 Democratic Committee, said she was pleased to see Zakim move forward not only because of his work with the City Council, where he has served since January of 2014, but also because he has been active in the Boston Ward 5 Democratic Committee.
“We were really hopeful for Josh,” Bok said, adding that all of the ward delegates were in attendance at the convention. “The ward knows him really well, but we weren’t entirely sure that his message would reach voters from other parts of the state.”
The Ward 5 Delegation supported Zakim 33-2, Bok said.
Galvin’s reelection campaign couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.