Maura Healey Gets Some State Senate Backing

With the state Democratic caucuses winding down, there’s much attention on how many of the chosen delegates are backing each gubernatorial candidate. But the pressure now begins for the other statewide candidates to woo those delegates in their own races before the June 14 convention.

In the race for Attorney General, Warren Tolman jumped out Monday by announcing the endorsements of four former holders of that office: Francis Bellotti, Scott Harshbarger, Thomas Reilly, and James Shannon.

But I have learned that Maura Healey will return volley today with three current state senators: Jamie Eldridge of Acton, Stan Rosenberg of Amherst, and Dan Wolf of Harwich.

They might not have the longstanding juice among party regulars as those former statewide electoral powerhouses, or the gravitas of having held the office at stake, but those three state senators have a lot of respect among the state’s progressive Democratic activists.

Rosenberg is the current majority leader in the Senate, and is expected to become Senate president next year. Wolf was running for governor before his campaign was derailed by a since-resolved conflict-of-interest ruling. And Eldridge has become a prominent liberal leader.

All three will host Healey at upcoming events in their districts.

Tolman—a former state senator himself—has seemed to have been gaining momentum after his relatively late entry to the race in late 2013. He has outraised Healey, and begun piling up endorsements, including that of former party chairman John Walsh.

But Healey, who has held high positions in the current Attorney General’s office, has earned support as well. The backing of Rosenberg in particular is a significant addition to her own momentum—one that could resonate as much with today’s convention delegates as big guns like Bellotti and Shannon.