Mass. Democrats Poised To Cancel Statewide Convention

Two months before thousands of Democrats were due to gather in Lowell for an election-year nominating convention, the head of the state Democratic Party said Monday night he would move to cancel the convention out of fear of contributing to the spread of coronavirus.

The step was taken with the support of U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, whose primary race is the only statewide contest on the ballot in September and who are the only candidates with something at stake at the convention.

Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman Gus Bickford said he would ask the state committee to call off the convention. If approved on Saturday during a virtual meeting of the party's governing body, Bickford will write to Secretary of State William Galvin asking that he put both Markey and Kennedy on the ballot.