June 8, 2008 — A defiant Gloucester lawyer, Ed O'Reilly, garnered enough support from party officials to ensure that he will give Senator John Kerry his first Democratic primary challenge in 24 years.
At the state Democratic Party convention Saturday, O'Reilly got 22.5 percent of the 2,574 ballots cast, more than the 15 percent he needed to secure a spot on the primary ballot. Because Kerry received a majority of the votes, he will get the party's official endorsement.
"Party officials said this campaign is a nuisance," O'Reilly said at the convention. "And it is. It's a total nuisance. Democracy is a nuisance. People said the American Revolution was a nuisance - and it was."
