Democratic Convention Nominates Candidates For Primary Ballot

Massachusetts Democrats have narrowed their choice for governor to three.

State Treasurer Steve Grossman topped the balloting Saturday, winning 35 percent of delegates at the Democratic state convention in Worcester .

Attorney General Martha Coakley and former federal health care administrator Don Berwick also collected the support of enough delegates to secure a spot on the September primary ballot.

Coakley won 23 percent of delegates. Berwick won 22 percent of delegates.

Two other Democratic hopefuls _ former homeland security official Juliette Kayyem and business executive and former Wellesley selectman Joseph Avellone _ failed to collect the needed 15 percent of delegates, ending their campaigns.

Republicans Charlie Baker and Mark Fisher will both appear on the GOP primary ballot for governor.

Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick isn't seeking re-election.

Also at the Convention, former state Sen. Warren Tolman has won his party's endorsement for Massachusetts attorney general.

Tolman won 52 percent of the delegate vote to narrowly top Maura Healey, a top aide to current Attorney General Martha Coakley, at the Democratic state convention.  .

Both candidates will advance to face each other in the September primary.

Healey is a one-time college basketball player. She said as head of the attorney general's civil rights division, she helped lead the fight for marriage equality and preserving protest-free buffer zones around abortion clinics.

Tolman promised if elected he would take on the National Rifle Association, noting that as a lawmaker he battled the tobacco industry while fighting for tougher anti-smoking laws.

The three Democratic candidates for state treasurer have all qualified for the September primary ballot after a vote by delegates at the state party convention. They are: former Brookline selectwoman Deborah Goldberg; state Rep. Thomas Conroy of Wayland; and state Sen. Barry Finegold of Andover.

And three Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor have won enough support at the convention to advance to the September primary. They are Stephen Kerrigan, a former aide to the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy; Michael Lake, who heads the Leading Cities organization; and Cambridge City Councilor Leland Cheung.