Which Black Woman named Campbell is First?

Rayla Campbell, a Republican candidate for secretary of state, earlier this month (on May 6) reportedly successfully submitted enough signatures from registered voters to become the first female African American candidate to qualify for statewide office in Massachusetts history.

But yesterday, the same achievement was claimed for Democrat attorney general candidate, Andrea Campbell (no relation). The MassGOP announced that Rayla Campbell's campaign had overwhelmingly cleared the state's 5,000-signature threshold requirement for ballot qualification. GOP Chair Jim Lyons pointed out that her campaign announcement made no mention of racial identity.

"We're not into identity politics, nor are we about racially labeling our candidates," Lyons said.

So, into that gap jumped Andrea Campbell, asserting in a widely publicized visit to the Secretary of State’s office on Tuesday to drop of her certified ballots, that she was first.

According to a report published on MassLive.com news site, “Campbell shattered barriers as she delivered her completed nomination paperwork to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office, becoming the first Black woman to pass the signature threshold for statewide office, her campaign said.”

Whether its simple confusion or something else is unclear. 

It appears both candidates will still need to get 15 percent of the delegates at their respective party’s conventions in order to actually be on the ballot – but both are likely to make that threshold.