Boston pols find appeal limited outside city

Something there is that doesn’t like a pol — at least one from Boston City Hall, that is.

With all due respect to poet Robert Frost, that may help account for the narrow defeat, pending a recount, in the Democratic primary of Dan Koh of Andover, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s candidate in the Lowell-based 3rd Congressional District.

It may also explain the whopping loss of progressive Boston City Councilor Josh Zakim at the hands of veteran incumbent Secretary of State William Galvin for the Democratic nomination for that post. Walsh also endorsed U.S. Rep. Mike Capuano of Somerville over Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley. Capuano lost.

In the crowded 3rd District contest to succeed outgoing U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas of Lowell, Lori Trahan of Westford, who grew up in Lowell, claimed a razorthin victory of 52 votes over Koh and eight others in the Democratic primary. Koh, who was Walsh’s chief of staff, was heavily supported by the Boston mayor, who not only raised substantial campaign money for Koh, but also actively campaigned for him in the district.

In some ways, the battle between Trahan and Koh was a “Battle of the Martys.” While Walsh supported Koh, UMass President Marty Meehan, who held the seat before Tsongas, supported Trahan. Trahan had been Meehan’s chief of staff. However, unlike Walsh, Meehan was prohibited from raising funds or actively campaigning for Trahan but did provide moral support.

Trahan and Koh had much the same liberal, anti-Trump message as did the rest of the candidates. But Trahan appeared to have more solid roots in the district, especially in Lowell. Koh had to move back into the district to make the run, bringing the mayor along with him. Not only did Koh lose, but Walsh lost as well in that many voters in the 3rd District resented his intrusion into their contest.

Walsh may be popular in Boston, but as a Boston politician he is a hard sell statewide. That is because when many suburban and rural voters look at Boston all they see is crime and traffic. In addition, Walsh’s apologies for the chaos surrounding opening-day school busing problems in the city resonated throughout the state.

For families, few days are as important as the opening days of school. If Walsh’s campaigning for Koh is a sign that he is testing the waters outside of Boston for a run for governor in 2022, he needs to rethink his plans. It is tough for a Boston-based politician to win statewide, whether it is in a Democratic primary or in a general election. Selling Boston outside of Boston is an uphill proposition. The last mayor of Boston to run for governor was the late Kevin White in 1970. He was beaten by Republican incumbent Gov. Frank Sargent. No mayor has run for governor since then.

Pressley, who is AfricanAmerican, upset veteran Rep. Capuano in the majority-minority 7th Congressional District. Even though it was more of an urban contest — Boston, Somerville, Cambridge — Walsh lost there, too. And while he did so, Attorney General Maura Healey not only backed Pressley, but actively campaigned for her. Like Walsh, Healey, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary, will also be thinking about running for governor in 2022 when Republican Gov. Charlie Baker is expected to complete his second term. Baker easily fought back a challenge in the GOP primary from Scott Lively, a right-wing Trump supporter and pastor from Springfield, and is favored to win re-election in November over Democrat Jay Gonzalez.

But of all the contests on the Democrat primary side, the victory of Galvin, 67, over Zakim, 34, in a statewide contest represents the difficulty of an elected Boston city official running against a constitutional office holder, even with the mayor’s support. Galvin may be from Boston, too, but he was not recognized as a Boston politician, the way Zakim was. Galvin never served on the Boston City Council but was a state representative before becoming secretary of state.

Zakim got off to a good start in the campaign when he presented himself as a positive candidate. His troubles began when he went negative, launching several television attack ads against Galvin that were unrelated to the duties of the office. His biggest flaw, however, was his record of not voting. He failed to vote on 16 previous occasions, and he was running for the office that oversees elections and voting. Go figure. Since Tuesday’s voter turnout was so low, it’s clear that many voters followed his example.