Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley is racking up some high-profile support for her run for Congress, including an endorsement from Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
Healey announced her endorsement on Monday in the primary election, siding with her city councilor. Pressley challenges incumbent and fellow Democrat Michael Capuano for his congressional seat representing the 7th District of Massachusetts.
“Ayanna isn’t just my City Councilor. She’s not just my partner in government. She’s someone who shares our values, and our priorities, who I’ve depended on for years,” Healey wrote in a statement.
“Long before I ever thought of running for office, Ayanna and I worked together on issues that strike at the core of who we are as a city and a state and reflect the progress we still need to make – from fighting profiling and discrimination by Boston nightclubs to protecting students from predatory, for-profit schools and helping survivors of sexual trauma, domestic violence and human trafficking,” she continued. “She stood by me and supported me in my first campaign, at a time very few elected leaders were willing to take a chance on an outsider candidate like me.”
Questlove, Ocasio-Cortez sing praises of Ayanna Pressley
Ayanna Pressley announced her congressional run in January. She’s seeking the Democratic nomination in Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District, which covers parts of Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Milton, Randolph and Somerville.
Since announcing her run, Pressley, 44, has received support from fellow city councilors Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi-George, former Massachusetts Democratic party chair John Walsh, and even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old made history when she won her New York congressional primary race in June, among others.
“Vote her in next, Massachusetts,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in June.
Over the weekend, Questlove — yes, that Questlove, of the Roots — gave a shout out to Pressley online, writing “Just wanna remind you guys to PLEASE research & support Ayanna Pressley’s bid for Congress because she is one of the most important & freshest emerging voices in politics right now.”
Pressley, Questlove noted in his post, made history in 2009 when she became the first-ever woman of color elected to the Boston City Council.
Capuano, the former mayor of Somerville, has served as a representative since 1999 and took over the 7th District in 2013. The 10-term congressional incumbent has received high-profile endorsements a well, like from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, former Gov. Deval Patrick, Congresswoman Maxine Waters and others.
“As Democrats, we sometimes find ourselves in primaries – I know that from personal experience,” Healey wrote. “But when the polls close, we unite behind the winner for the final stretch and in the work ahead. And that’s just what we will do here on September 4th.”
The Massachusetts primaries are Tuesday, Sept. 4.
