William Galvin To Seek Reelection As Secretary Of State

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BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, citing his record of overseeing accessible and transparent elections, announced Monday that he will seek an eighth four-year term in office.

"At this time in our national history the conduct of accessible, honest, accurate elections is critical to our national future," the Democrat wrote on his campaign Facebook page. "The necessity of faithful election administration has never been more obvious."

"I am proud of my record of innovative methods of increasing voter turnout while maintaining accurate transparent results. All our most recent elections have had record voter participation."

Galvin, 71, a former state representative from Boston's Brighton neighborhood, was first elected in 1994 as secretary of state and had more than $1.9 million in his campaign account as of the start of 2022. He won reelection in 2018 with about 71% of the vote.

Galvin faces a primary challenge from Tanisha Sullivan, a lawyer and president of the Boston branch of the NAACP, who announced her bid on Jan. 18.

In addition to overseeing elections, the secretary of the commonwealth is the state's top securities regulator, and also oversees public records, lobbyists, the federal census every 10 years, the state archives and the state historical commission.