The delegates who arrived Friday mixed and mingled at the Friday night parties with various major office candidates or interest groups at hotels and clubs nearby.
The convention took place in the central arena of the DCU Center. The convention itself started Saturday morning. Every delegate was issued and required to use the electronic format credential document issued to him or her when they arrived in order to prevent fraudulent voting. East Boston delegates sat with their fellow Republicans in the district from Revere, Winthrop and downtown Boston.
East Boston is Boston’s Ward 1 and is in the 1st Suffolk and Middlesex Senatorial District.
The hallway surrounding the arena was filled by representatives and displays of many candidates’ campaigns and political organizations seeking a presence at the convention. During “down times” between speeches and ballot votes, the candidates, guests and campaign assistants wandered through the aisles, meeting and shaking hands with as many delegates as they could.
After opening exercises, the speeches, including a memorial for former First Lady Barbara Bush, began. The nomination for certain state-wide offices were not contested. The convention endorsed Keiko Orrall for State Treasurer, Anthony Amore for Secretary of State and Helen Brady for State Auditor.
The first contested race on the convention ballot was for Attorney General; Jay McMahon overcame Dan Shores to obtain the party’s endorsement. The incumbent lieutenant governor Karyn Polito was approved by acclamation.
The next vote was for Governor. Dr. Scott Lively challenged incumbent governor Charlie Baker and won about 27% of the vote.
The last vote at the convention was to endorse one of the five candidates running for U. S. Senate: State Representative Geoffrey Diehl, John Kingston, Mary Beth Lindstrom, Darius Mitchell and Heidi Wellman. Geoff Diehl won the convention endorsement on this race’s second ballot by obtaining 56% of the vote.
With voting on a second ballot necessary for the U. S. Senate endorsement, the convention ran longer than expected. The convention ended around 6:00 p.m.
Submitted by Christopher Morton
