CHICAGO – Led by Steve Kerrigan, chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, the Massachusetts delegation proudly promised their votes to Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Mr. secretary, Massachusetts counts 116 votes, all of our votes for Kamala D. Harris for the office of the president of the United States!”

Despite a different name at the top of the ticket from just a month ago, the Democratic Party has embraced and quickly endorsed Vice President Harris for president.

“She’s been a part of this ticket for a long time, working as a partner of President Biden for the last four years. And it didn't take anything to embrace her, because she's already been one of our two leaders,” said Kerrigan. “I was impressed by how quickly her team, and she herself, reached out to delegates to secure and win the nomination, as she promised to do when she announced she was running. She said she was going to earn our vote, not just for this nomination, but for the presidency in the fall. And she's doing that each and every day.”

Massachusetts is often looked at as one of the purse strings of the Democratic Party. Candidates come for fundraisers, but don’t necessarily campaign. For Kerrigan, it’s what Massachusetts voters do for other states that makes them special. 

“I always say we have two great exports, cranberries and political activism. And so, yes, we in Massachusetts are oftentimes a stop in the fundraising tour,” said Kerrigan. “Our activists do work up in New Hampshire and in Maine and in every swing state in the country. We're on the phone. We're on text message, on emails. We're doing everything, postcard parties, and we punch above our weight when it comes to our influence in swing districts, in swing states.”

Harris will formally accept the party’s nomination on Thursday night.