Andrea Campbell, the former Boston city councilor and mayoral candidate now running in a tight Democratic primary for Massachusetts attorney general, picked up the endorsement of one of the state’s largest union bodies representing over 115,000 workers.
The Campbell campaign on Wednesday announced the Service Employees International Union State Council’s formal support, marking one of the largest union endorsements so far in the race for attorney general, a seat freed up by outgoing Attorney General Maura Healey, who is running for governor.
“As a champion of racial and economic justice, Andrea Campbell has centered her work in the values of our movement,” Peter MacKinnon, president of the Massachusetts State Council and SEIU 509, said in a press release.
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The SEIU State Council that endorsed Campbell comprises SEIU Locals 32BJ, 1199, 509, and 1957 CIR, and represents workers across a number of industries, including healthcare and building service workers.
“This is just the beginning of our partnership,” Campbell said in a press release on the endorsement. “I look forward to working together leading up to the primary to mobilize voters across the state, and as your next attorney general to deliver greater opportunity and equity in the workplace.”
Laborers’ Local 175, a construction union headquartered in Methuen, has already pledged its support for Campbell.
Both Campbell and one of her primary opponents, labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan, have committed extensive platforms to advancing labor rights and racked up the support of a number of unions around the Commonwealth.
Several other SEIU affiliates — including the National Association of Government Employees based out of Quincy and SEIU Local 888 in Braintree — have endorsed Liss-Riordan. NAGE represents more than 22,000 public-sector employees in the state. Liss-Riordan has received dozens more union endorsements as well, including the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the largest union in the state, representing 400,000 workers.
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Also running for attorney general is Quentin Palfrey, who served in the Biden administration and previously ran for lieutenant governor in 2018. Palfrey has also received the support of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222, which represents telecommunications workers in Boston.
Whoever wins the nomination will face off in November with Cape Cod lawyer Jay McMahon, the only Republican candidate running for the office, who previously sought it in 2018.
Simon J. Levien was a Globe intern in 2022. Follow him on Twiitter @simonjlevien.