Around New England

Massachusetts Democrats Looking To Cancel 2020 State Convention

March 31, 2020

The Massachusetts Democratic Party is considering cancelling its 2020 nominating convention set to take place at Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell at the end of May amid coronavirus concerns.

Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman Gus Bickford told MassLive.com. “Our duty to protect one another, to protect our friends, family, neighbors and strangers, requires that we all make changes to the way we live.”

It’s a change both Democratic U.S. Senate candidates, Ed Markey and Joe Kennedy III, would support. The campaigns reportedly agreed that Markey would win the convention, but Kennedy would earn at least 15 percent of the threshold needed to appear on the ballot.

“Upon adoption of this recommendation, the chair of the Party will send a letter to Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin, requesting that he place the names of both Senator Markey and Congressman Kennedy on the Democratic Primary ballot for the United States Senate,” the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s statement read, according to MassLive.com.

The Massachusetts Democratic Party has already suspended all local caucuses because of the coronavirus emergency. The Democrats’ state convention is, as of Tuesday, March 31, still scheduled for Saturday, May 30, according to the party’s web site.