John Walsh, Democratic strategist, dies at 65

The Globe reports the death of John Walsh, who helped Deval Patrick become the state's first Black governor in 2006, using strategies that would help send Barack Obama to the White House a couple years later.

In 2020, Walsh helped Ed Markey stay a senator, over a challenge from US Rep. Joe Kennedy III. Markey, who then hired Walsh as his chief of staff, wrote:

I will always remember what John Walsh would say - "Trust the grass roots". And for him trust meant believing that young people and communities know the world that they want to live in, and giving them a chance to build that future. Thank you John for your trust and your love.