In 2014, when many state and national Democrats were still irritated with Seth Moulton for ousting a longtime incumbent, it was Joe Biden who showed up in Lynn in late October to hold a rally and fundraiser for the Salem Democrat.
Moulton, now in his third term in Congress, remembers that moment as one when the vice president stuck his neck out for him when other Democrats wouldn't. And it's a trait, Moulton said, that will serve Biden well as he becomes the presumptive Democratic nominee for president at an unprecedented time in American politics.
"He can put together the coalition from all parts of our party, including the most progressive wing, and then unite the country. Joe Biden is a unifying leader," Moulton said in an interview.
On his third try, the Amtrak-riding, uncensored former Delaware senator and two-time vice president under Barack Obama all but secured the Democratic Party nomination for president last week when his last remaining rival -- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders -- suspended his campaign.
And Massachusetts voters played a significant role in propelling Biden to the top of the political pedestal he now stands on, delivering him a surprise win on an overall big Super Tuesday night for Biden when he topped both Sanders and home-state Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Biden's ties to Massachusetts are deep and date back decades, but until he emerged as the clear front-runner for the nomination it was Warren who had united some of the biggest names in Democratic politics in the state behind her campaign.
Still, Biden had his supporters as well, including Moulton who after running his own campaign for president endorsed Biden in January ahead of the Iowa caucuses. And if that seemed out of character for someone who had been preaching the need for a generational change in leadership in Washington, Moulton said they don't know Biden.
"But he supports the new generation and he's someone who's committed to bringing new people into the process," Moulton said.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry and interim senator and Edward Kennedy-confidant Paul Kirk were also backing Biden throughout the primaries, and former Gov. Deval Patrick endorsed him in early March after ending his own campaign. Sen. Marc Pacheco of Taunton, Rep. Claire Cronin of Easton and former U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt and former state Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez of Boston were also on the list of early supporters.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is perhaps the closest person to Biden who did not endorse in the primary, perhaps reluctant to choose between his friend and Warren.
But Walsh's former aide John Laadt organized the state for Biden, and has since been deployed to the Midwest, according to Biden's campaign.
Biden's other most well-known Bay State supporter was Larry Rasky, a former press secretary to Biden's first campaign for president in 1988. Rasky was helping to run a super PAC supporting Biden's candidacy, and was also the CEO of one of the biggest public relations firms in Boston, Rasky Partners, when he passed away suddenly late last month.
Rasky later tested positive for COVID-19, but had underlying health conditions as well, according to his family. He has been replaced as treasurer of the Unite the Country super PAC by Michael Morris, a senior advisor at Rasky Partners, according to campaign filings and officials familiar with the change.
"We all want to fix health care, protect Americans from gun violence and make it easier to get ahead and make this country safer and strong for everyone," Moulton said. "Sometimes we disagree about how to get there but I am confident that Democrats are going to unite around the fact that Joe Biden has a record of getting things done on the big issues we care about."
If Biden is going to unite the progressive and centrist-wings of the party, he might have some work to do in winning over Sanders supporters who want to make sure the senator's ideas, particularly those about wealth inequality and access to health care, are heard.
State Rep. Mike Connolly, a progressive Democrat from Cambridge, credited Sanders with "literally changing my life over the past five years." Connolly four years ago defeated a longtime incumbent in the primary to win his seat.
"I'm proud to have worked with millions of fellow volunteers and supporters to continue building the movement in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and across the country. In true Bernie-fashion, I know we're all going to immediately continue working for justice and change," Connolly said.
Voters ultimately viewed Biden as the "safer" choice, Connolly said, and it was clear to him that Sanders won both the "contest over ideas" and the fight for the support of younger voters, who the Cambridge Democrat said will be essential to turnout in November.
"So, I think it's going to be very important for the Democratic Party as a whole to recognize these key facts as we all work to build the momentum and enthusiasm that will be necessary to defeat Donald Trump in November," Connolly said in an email.
State Sen. Jamie Eldridge also told POLITICO this week that he would be voting for Biden, but thought the vice president needed to do more to energize the left.
"There's a need for Biden to do more outreach. And I would say so far it's been kind of a mixed bag. I think that Joe Biden needs to do more to reach out to Sanders supporters and not be dismissive," Eldridge said.
Moulton said he thinks Biden is doing what he needs to do, and that all Democrats, regardless of ideology, share the same goal of defeating President Donald Trump in November.
"All of us can always do work to unite the party but Joe Biden has been fighting for people his entire career," Moulton said.
Massachusetts should be a safe state for Biden for matter what in November. Trump finished behind Hillary Clinton in 2016 with less than 33 percent of the vote, and Massachusetts has not gone for a Republican since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
In the buildup to the Massachusetts primary, the Biden campaign had one field office in Quincy. That office has since been closed, and with traditional campaigning ground to a halt the Biden campaign is focusing on its digital efforts to get its message out.
The campaign said it planned to use the "distributed organizing program" that it used to turn out voters on Super Tuesday through virtual phone and text banks to continue to reach Massachusetts voters ahead of the general election.
The campaign is also replacing large-scale rallies and community events with virtual town halls.
"It's obviously a challenging political environment for everyone, and despite Trump's disgraceful and incompetent lack of leadership that's literally costing American lives every single day in this pandemic, he does have the bully pulpit when he gets up and lies about the coronavirus every afternoon, so that'a a challenge," Moulton said.
Moulton's advice to Biden was to keep pointing out where Democrats think the president has let the country down, and show how he can be a "more unifying leader and ultimately a much bigger patriot than Donald Trump."
As for advice about picking a running mate, however, Moulton was speechless.
"I don't have any suggestions," Moulton said. "That's a decision the VP has to make."
