From 1991 to 1992, he was chairman of the
Massachusetts Democratic Party, also serving as chairman of the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee from 1992 to 1996. From 1997 to 1999, he was the chairman of the
Democratic National Committee. He
ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002, losing the Democratic nomination to
Shannon O'Brien with 0.80% of the vote in the
Democratic Primary. He had announced his withdrawal from the race over the summer, but too late to remove his name from the ballot. He was elected to succeed
Tim Cahill as state treasurer in November 2010, defeating
Republican State Representative Karyn Polito.
2014 gubernatorial campaign On July 13, 2013, Grossman declared his candidacy for
Massachusetts Governor. On April 17, 2014, Grossman faced off against Gun Owners' Action League of Massachusetts Executive Director Jim Wallace in a debate over tougher
gun control laws. On June 14, 2014, Grossman won the endorsement of the
Massachusetts Democratic Party at the Democratic State Convention in
Worcester, Massachusetts, where he received the most support by a wide margin. Grossman received strong support from the LGBT community during his campaign, including the endorsement of all five
LGBT state legislators: State Senator and Majority Leader
Stan Rosenberg, Representative
Denise Andrews, Representative
Elizabeth Malia, Representative
Kate Hogan, and Representative
Sarah Peake. Grossman's broad base of support included endorsements by unions such as the
United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers Local 33 and
Teamsters Local 122 as well as advocacy organizations such as Mass Retirees and the Coalition for Social Justice. During the campaign Grossman also received support from the Mass Forward Super PAC, which became the first Super PAC subject to a new state campaign finance disclosure law that requires the top five donors names be included on advertising materials. In the disclosure, Grossman's mother, Shirley Grossman's name appeared as one of those donors. On September 9, 2014, Grossman lost his gubernatorial bid in the Democratic primary to
Martha Coakley. Grossman was a supporter of
Mayor Pete Buttigieg's
2020 presidential campaign. ==Personal life==