RESULTS FROM THE MASSACHUSETTS PRIMARY

Written By: Olivia Meade, Special Projects Associate and Caleb Cook, Special Projects Associate

The Bay State Inches Closer to Replacing Baker

The Massachusetts political landscape was upended by Republican Governor Charlie Baker's decision not to run for reelection this year, sparking a race for the top position among ambitious members of both parties.

Attorney General Maura Healey (D) ran unopposed in yesterday’s Democratic primary after her opponent, State Senator Sonia Rosa Chang-Díaz (D), unofficially withdrew from the race in late June. In last 60 years, there has never been a Democratic primary with just one active candidate running for an open seat.

Healey has served as the Massachusetts Attorney General since her re-election in 2014. Prior to her current role, Healey served as chief of the Civil Rights Division. She supports tax relief for families and has promised that under her Child Tax Credit, more than 700,000 families would receive $600 per child. She also pledged to appoint a transportation safety chief on her first day in office. Her other campaign priorities include voting rights, economic development, and reproductive freedom.

If elected in November, Healey would be the first woman elected governor in Massachusetts’ history and the first openly lesbian governor in the country.

Healey will face former State Representative Geoff Diehl (R) in the general election, after Diehl closed out with approximately 56% of votes, defeating political newcomer Chris Doughty (R). Diehl previously served as a State Representative for the 7th Plymouth District from 2011 to 2019. His campaign is concentrating on greater commitments to renewable energy, upgrading infrastructure, and reforming state agencies. Diehl was endorsed by former President Donald Trump (R) in late 2021 and was joined by Trump the night before the primary for a telephone rally. Diehl won the state party’s endorsement in May with support from 71% of convention delegates, but he will face a tougher climb in a general election in a state in which Trump won only 32% of votes in 2020.

Healey emerged as the immediate frontrunner in the race for governor in January and continues to poll high. The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball have rated this race as solid Democratic.

The Democratic primary for Attorney General saw three candidates as voters prepare to replace Attorney General Maura Healey (D). Quentin Palfrey (D) unofficially withdrew from the race, making the contest between former Boston City Council President Andrea Campbell (D) and attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan (D).  

Andrea Campbell secured the Democratic Party’s nomination. After graduating with a law degree from UCLA, Campbell went on to work for the EdLaw project as a legal services attorney and at Proskauer LLP as an employment attorney. She served as legal counsel for former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D). If elected, Campbell plans to establish an Elder Justice Unit to advocate for seniors’ rights. She pledges to support Massachusetts’ immigrant communities and touts work she has done in her legal career to address discrimination against minority communities. She promises to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for their contributions to the opioid crisis, and to leverage her office to promote safe prescribing and dispensing practices. Notable endorsements for Campbell include sitting Attorney General Maura Healey (D) and U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA). 

Lawyer James McMahon (R) advanced from the Republican primary as the party’s only nominated candidate. McMahon served in law enforcement during the 1970’s. He worked for over 12 years in corporate management before starting his own law practice out of Bourne, Massachusetts. If elected – and that is a big “if” in a state that has not elected a Republican to this office since the 1960s – McMahon vows to prioritize public safety and government corruption, to work on abolishing sanctuary cities in Massachusetts, and to rescind COVID-19 vaccine-related mandates.