Earlier today, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Francis Galvin announced that he will not be running in the 2006 Gubanatorial election. This leaves Deval Patrick as the most qualified cannidate left in the 2006 Massachusetts Governor's race on either side. The Galvin withdrawal statement is below.
Galvin to seek re-election, forego gubernatorial race
By Associated Press
Monday, December 12, 2005
BOSTON - Secretary of State William Galvin announced Monday he will seek re-election next year, foregoing a Democratic campaign for governor.
"I understand the disappointment of some of my friends and supporters who would have preferred me to seek higher office," the former state representative from Brighton said in a statement released by his political committee. "They can be sure that I will focus my efforts to reverse the decline that Massachusetts now suffers from."
Galvin cited a "weak" economy, lagging job growth and a population decline.
The decision means that Attorney General Tom Reilly is the only statewide office holder to have declared an interest in seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination next year. Deval Patrick, a Justice Department official in the Clinton administration, has also declared he will run for the nomination.
The Republican field is also expected to take shape within the next 10 days. Gov. Mitt Romney is slated to announce by Dec. 21 whether he will seek re-election. He has acknowledged he is also assessing a 2008 presidential campaign. If the governor does not seek a second term, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey has been preparing to run for his job.
Campaign fundraising is shaping up to be an issue in the emerging campaign.
Both Romney and Healey are millionaires and self-financed a portion of their 2002 campaigns. Both have indicated they could do the same if they decided to run again in 2006. Reilly, meanwhile, has about $3.4 million in the bank.
By contrast, Patrick started the year with $1 in his campaign account and had $406,000 as of Nov. 30. In Galvin's case, the secretary started the year with $401,000 in the bank and had $575,000 as of the end of November.
In August, health care executive Charles Baker announced he would not seek the GOP gubernatorial nomination, citing family concerns but also the challenge of raising enough money to compete with Healey.
As secretary of state, Galvin, 55, is a constitutional officer, third in line to the governor's office after Romney and Healey. He oversees state record-keeping, elections and regulations for the finance industry, among others. He was elected to the post in 1994.