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Massachusetts
Governor
| MASSACHUSETTS |
Nov. 8,
2022
Governor
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Plurality: 721,781 votes (29.07 percentage points). MA
Secretary of the Commonwealth
DEMOCRATIC PICKUP Notes: Gov. Charlie Baker (R) announced Dec. 1, 2021 that he would not seek a third term (+). Baker, a Trump critic, ranked as the nation's most popular governor according to surveys conducted by Morning Consult in the first and third quarters of 2022. However, the race was seen as being solidly in the Democratic column. The Republican nominee, former state Rep. Geoff Diehl, was, unlike Baker, a strong Trump supporter. As expected Attorney General Maura Healey (D) won comfortably (>), tallying 63.7% of the vote to defeat Diehl (R) and Kevin Reed (L). Baker declined to make an endorsement in the governor's race. Healey and Diehl debated twice: on Oct. 12 hosted by NBC 10 Boston (>) and on Oct. 20 at WCVB Channel 5 studios in Needham in partnership with the Boston Globe, WBUR and Univision-TV (>). Vice President Kamala Harris rallied with Healey and Democratic candidates in Roxbury on Nov. 2 (>). Healey made history as the first woman elected governor of Massachusetts and, along with Tina Kotek in Oregon, the first open lesbian elected governor. September 6 Primaries Geoff Diehl from Whitman, a former state representative who was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018, and Chris Doughty of Wrentham, who, with his partner started and built Capstan Industries into successful manufacturing business, faced off in the primary. At the Massachusetts Republican Nominating Convention in Springfield on May 21, delegates voted 71% to 29% to endorse Diehl, while Doughty's showing qualified him to run in the primary. Diehl served as eight years in the Massachusetts House representing the 7th Plymouth District and has worked in business development and as an account executive. Running as a conservative, he launched his campaign on July 4, 2021, before Baker's announcement (>). Trump endorsed Diehl in an Oct. 5, 2021 statement that lambasted Baker (+). Diehl announced former state Rep. Leah Allen as his running mate on Mar. 21, 2022. From March to June he traveled around the Commonwealth in a "Berkshires to Boston" tour. Trump held a tele-rally for Diehl on Sept. 5. Doughty was a first-time candidate. He and his business partner started their company, which manufactures metal powder parts, in 1992. Doughty was more of a moderate, in the model of Baker or Romney. He launched his campaign on Feb. 4, 2022 (>) and emphasized affordability. He announced former state Rep. Kate Campanale as his running mate on Mar. 1. Diehl and Doughty debated on the Howie Carr radio show on July 21 (>), but Diehl refused to participate in any televised debates. Diehl won the primary. On the Democratic side, Attorney General Maura Healey was the frontrunner throughout the primary campaign. Healey announced her campaign on Jan. 20, 2022 (>). Before being elected Attorney General in 2014, she worked in the Attorney General's office under Martha Coakley, heading the Civil Rights Division, the Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau and the Business and Labor Bureau. Healey played professional basketball and was captain of the Harvard women's basketball team. Several other candidates ran. Former state Sen. Ben Downing announced in Feb. 2021. Harvard professor Danielle Allen announced an exploratory effort on Dec. 14, 2020 (>) and offically entered the race on June 15, 2021. State Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz announced on June 22 (>). Downing ended his campaign on Dec. 28, and Allen exited on Feb. 15, 2022, leaving Healey and Chang-Díaz in the race. On June 4 at the Massachusetts Democratic Party convention in Worcester, Healey (>) won support of 71% of delegates to 29% for Chang-Díaz. Chang-Díaz's showing was sufficient to qualify her to run in the Sept. 6 primary, but she ended her campaign on June 23. Meanwhile, three candidates competed for the endorsement for lieutenant governor. Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll finished comfortably ahead followed by state Rep. Tami Gouveia and state Sen. Eric Lesser. Driscoll also prevailed in the Sept. 6 primary. Campaign Managers: Geoff Diehl: Amanda Orlando Office manager at the Gloucester law firm of Orlando & Associates. Elected to the MA GOP State Committee for the 1st Essex and Middlesex District in 2017. M.A. in teaching English from Salem State College; B.A. from Boston College, 2001. Maura Healey: Jason Burrell (Mar. 2022) On leave from position as associate at Mintz in Boston, started there in Sept. 2019 (also a summer associate there in 2018 and 2017). Special assistant (June 2014-Sept. 2016) and regional director (Jan. 2013-May 2014) to Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Regional field director on Elizabeth Warren for MA, Mar. 2012-Jan. 2013. Advance/body on City Councilor Tito H. Jackson's campaign, June-Nov. 2011. J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, 2019; B.A. in legal studies from University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2011. See also: Stan Grossfeld. "Before she was a politician, Maura Healey was a basketball player. Here's how her excellence in the sport helped her career." Boston Globe, Nov. 1, 2022. Emma Platoff. "Geoff Diehl is kind of running for governor. Has a haphazard campaign strategy hurt his chances? Boston Globe, Nov. 1, 2022. Alison Kuznitz. "Gov. Charlie Baker's only statewide endorsement goes to Anthony Amore, auditor hopeful." masslive.com, Sept. 15, 2022. Matt Stout and Danny McDonald. "Healey wins Democrats' endorsement at convention, cementing her frontrunner status." Boston Globe, June 4, 2022. Samantha J. Gross. "Maura Healey could be the nation's first openly lesbian governor. Here's how her identity has shaped her." Boston Globe, June 2, 2022. Christopher Gavin. "Gov. Charlie Baker is—again—the most popular governor in the U.S." Boston.com, Apr. 28, 2022. Kara Voght. "Charlie Baker and the Rise of One-Party Rule." The Atlantic, Mar. 27, 2022. Adam Reilly. "Is everyone underestimating Geoff Diehl?" WGBH, Feb. 2, 2022. Lisa Kashinsky. "Governor hopeful goes all-in on Trump...in Massachusetts." Politico, Feb. 2, 2022. |
 
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