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Politics
Updates on the races for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and Suffolk County District Attorney.
Massachusetts voters will weigh in on several open statewide races this year, first in the Sept. 6 primary election, and then again at the ballot box on Nov. 8.
Bookmark this page for regular updates on several statewide elections, as well as the race for Suffolk County District Attorney.
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These are the candidates so far in major 2022 Massachusetts elections
Quentin Palfrey is calling on his opponents in the attorney general primaries to sign a “People’s Pledge” – a vow to keep special interest money out of the races.
“The Attorney General’s Office is not for sale,” Palfrey, a U.S. Dept. of Commerce attorney, said in a statement on Wednesday. “The people’s lawyer needs to be truly independent. That’s why I am calling on the 2022 AG candidates from both parties to join with me to commit to a campaign free of special interest money.”
Palfrey, who has also signed a pledge to reject cash from the fossil fuel industry, said the pledge he’s asking fellow candidates to sign would discourage special interest PACs from running support and attack ads.
Palfrey said he is asking fellow Democrats Andrea Campbell and Shannon Liss-Riordan and lone Republican candidate Jay McMahon to sign on so the attorney general race is “a clean election.”
“That means rejecting special interest funded spending,” Palfrey said. “That means no outside spending by developers, fossil fuel companies, charter-school backers, for-profit healthcare companies, or pharmaceutical companies. There are a huge number of undecided voters in this race, and those voters deserve an opportunity to decide who should be the next Attorney General based on who has the most relevant experience for the job and the best vision for the future of Massachusetts, not on whose super PAC spends the most money on advertising.”
Palfrey, a former assistant attorney general, has consistently been behind his two opponents in polls. The latest voter survey, released by UMass Lowell last week, found Palfrey has garnered only 6 percent of voter support, behind 11 percent for Liss-Riordan, and 30 percent for Campbell. Two percent of respondents said they would support another candidate in the primary, and 52 percent of those polled said they are undecided.
The SEIU Massachusetts State Council, one of the state’s largest umbrella unions, endorsed Maura Healey’s campaign for governor, The Boston Globe reported.
The umbrella union is the latest in a string of unions that have chosen to support the attorney general over her opponent in the democratic gubernatorial primary, Boston State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz.
The SEIU Massachusetts State Council represents 115,000 workers, the Globe reported, including hospital and nursing home workers, social workers within the Department of Children and Families, janitors, and more.
The SEIU State Council’s unanimous support is unusual, the Globe reported. This is the first time in 20 years that all six of its unions have been united in supporting one candidate, the newspaper wrote.
The Globe reported that Healey has a long-standing positive relationship with Massachusetts labor unions given that as attorney general, she has been tasked with enforcing labor and worker protection laws during her nearly eight-year tenure.
“Maura Healey’s commitment to fight for issues like affordable healthcare, housing, and child care is not only aligned with our members’ values — it’s what we need to advance racial and economic justice here in Massachusetts,” Peter MacKinnon, president of the SEIU Massachusetts State Council and SEIU Local 509, said in a statement to the Globe.
Andrea Campbell, candidate for attorney general, and Tanisha Sullivan, who is running for secretary of state, have picked up some notable endorsements.
Campbell, a former Boston city councilor, gained the support of former Congressman Joe Kennedy III on Tuesday during a campaign stop in Fall River.
“From affordable housing to education equity, Andrea Campbell has spent her career on the frontlines of the most pressing issues facing communities like Fall River and all of our Gateway Cities,” Kennedy said in a statement. “As a lawyer and elected official, she leads, advocates, policy-makes and governs from the perspective of someone who knows that injustice is bred in the places that government overlooks and ignores.”
Sullivan, who is currently president of the NAACP’s Boston branch, on Tuesday earned the backing of Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne.
“I’ve known Tanisha for years, and have seen firsthand her courage and commitment as an attorney, an advocate, and a civil rights champion,” Siddiqui said in a statement. “Tanisha embodies the kind of leadership we need in the Secretary of State’s office, and I know she’ll work tirelessly to build a stronger, more inclusive democracy that will benefit all Cambridge residents.”
Ballantyne, in her own statement, said: “As an immigrant, my own lived experience provides a window into the challenges many of our friends and neighbors face when it comes to fully engaging in our democracy. I believe we all deserve a Secretary of State who works proactively to expand opportunity and create new pathways to participation for every person in our communities, and I’m proud to endorse Tanisha’s campaign.”
Apparently, Sydney Levin-Epstein has a friend…in Carole King.
The legendary and celebrated singer-songwriter is slated to perform at a virtual fundraiser for Levin-Epstein, a Democrat facing off against state Rep. Jake Oliveira for state Sen. Eric Lesser’s seat as Lesser tries for lieutenant governor this year, MassLive reports.
“Western Massachusetts has long been overlooked and forgotten by Beacon Hill insiders,” Levin-Epstein told the outlet. “My campaign is focused on uplifting and empowering the people of the 413 to the point where it will be impossible to ignore. This is an event with the iconic Carole King, but also four of some of the most amazing women leaders in Western Massachusetts, proves that point. I am building a diverse coalition to put forward innovative and creative policies to [ensure] that west of [Interstate] 495 is never again treated as Narnia to Boston insiders.”
The May 11 event has a range of ticket prices, from $18 for students to $1,000 for hosts.
Geoff Diehl, the former state representative now seeking the Republican nomination for governor, said Thursday he will agree to take part in two debates ahead of September’s primary election.
Chris Doughty, a Wrentham businessman and the only other declared candidate in the primary, had repeatedly challenged Diehl to debate before the party’s convention next month.
“Diehl needs to clearly explain what advantage he is gaining to run for offices he has zero hope of winning,” Doughty said in a statement on Wednesday. He needs to explain how losing another general election is helpful for our party and our message.”
In a statement on Thursday, Diehl’s campaign said Diehl will agree to the two debates “with any other Republican gubernatorial candidate who secures enough certified signatures and convention votes to appear on the September primary ballot along with him.”
“Diehl’s campaign has consistently said that Diehl would participate in debates as soon as any other challengers paid their required convention fee, submitted more than 10,000 certified signatures, and secured more than 15% of the vote at the convention,” the release reads.
The campaign also said, “Howie Carr and Jeff Kuhner have both agreed to each host one-hour debates on their respective radio shows in July or August, before the state primary election.”
Sonia Chang-Díaz is continuing her push for three debates against her gubernatorial opponent in the Democratic primary, Maura Healey, before the party’s convention in June.
At a candidate forum hosted by Boston Democrats on Tuesday night, Chang-Díaz, a state senator, reiterated her position that voters should be given a chance to see the two candidates square-off one-on-one, according to The Boston Globe.
“As much as I appreciate this conversation here today … I think it’s important to acknowledge that this is not a replacement for a debate,” she said, speaking to Healey. “Candidate to candidate, person to person, debates are the cornerstone of our democracy. Voters deserve to know where we stand on all of these issues.”
According to the newspaper, the forum on Tuesday didn’t exactly allow for candidates to ask one another questions, but Chang-Díaz said her campaign has received offers for debates and asked Healey if she would join.
Healey said she “looks forward to continuing to talk about policy over the next six weeks” and went on to note that “we actually have a debate next week,” in reference to another forum scheduled for April 27. Chang-Díaz first challenged Healey to three televised debates last month. Healey later offered she would commit to two debates after the convention but before the Democratic primary in September.
Maura Healey on Tuesday unveiled her climate agenda, outlining her vision for a 100% clean electricity supply in Massachusetts by 2030 and expansion of off-shore wind and electrified transportation.
“The climate crisis is an existential threat to our state and our residents – but there is also tremendous opportunity in our response,” Healey, the attorney general seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, said in a statement. “We need to meet this moment with innovation, aggressiveness, and urgency. I want Massachusetts to be a national and world leader in combating the climate crisis and driving our clean energy economy — and together we will do just that.”
Healey, not long after entering the gubernatorial primary, declared she will be “the most aggressive governor in the country,” if elected this year.
The climate plan is the first major policy proposal Healey has released.
In the plan, Healey calls for the state government to lead by example “by achieving net-zero emissions by 2030 across state operations and rapidly transitioning the state fleet to electric vehicles.”
Healey would also dedicate “at least 1%” of the state budget to its environmental and energy agencies and work to boost funding for the Department of Public Utilities, according to the proposal.
The plan also outlines creating a cabinet-level “Climate Chief” who will helm the push for climate policies and electrifying public transportation so all modes are running on 100% clean power by 2040, beginning with school and MBTA buses by 2030, Healey’s campaign said in a news release.
Healey also wants to “direct American Rescue Plan and Infrastructure Law climate spending to directly benefit overburdened communities for community-based projects like clean energy improvements in public housing, schools or municipal buildings, converting fleets of dirty fuel vehicles to clean electric buses, and community solar,” her campaign said.
Approximately six weeks from the state Democratic Party convention in June, Healey is enjoying a 45-point lead in the latest poll and has significantly more cash on hand than her opponent, state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz.
Read Healey’s full climate plan.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is maintaining a strong lead over her opponent in the gubernatorial Democratic primary, State Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz
According to a new UMass Lowell poll, Healey is up 45 points over Chang-Díaz among likely Democratic voters. The lead is Healey’s widest yet, POLITICO reported.
Overall, Healey got 62% of likely Democratic voters, with Chang-Díaz getting just 17%. Another 20% of likely Democratic voters said they were undecided.
“Primary voters want someone they ideologically align with, but they also want to vote for a winner,” UMass Lowell pollster and Center for Public Opinion associate director John Cluverius told POLITICO.
“The more and more Healey looks like a frontrunner, the more and more voters who aren’t perfectly aligned with Healey, but find her acceptable, are willing to vote for her.”
The poll found that Chang-Díaz performs better with younger voters (ages 18 to 44) and non-white voters, where Healey leads 44% to Chang-Díaz’s 28%.
Much of the problem for Chang-Díazs is name recognition. When asking likely Democratic voters about favorability, 42% said they had no opinion of her, and 12% said they’d never heard of her.
Cluverius told POLITICO that Chang-Díaz could benefit from finding “something pivotal to contrast herself with Healey.”
With Healey leaving her post as Massachusetts Attorney General, the race to replace her remains competitive.
Former Boston City Council President Andrea Campbell leads the field with 30%, compared to 11% for Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan, 6% for U.S. Dept. of Commerce Attorney Quentin Palfrey, 2% for another candidate, and 52% undecided.
State Rep. Ron Mariano, the speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, is throwing his support behind Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll in the unusually active Democratic primary for lieutenant governor.
“Mayor Driscoll has an impressive record of accomplishment starting in Chelsea and as a transformative mayor in Salem,” Mariano said in a statement, according to Politico. “She is the best kind of leader: inclusive, accountable, and focused on results. She will be a valuable partner for our work in the House and the best advocate for the cities and towns of the Commonwealth.”
Mariano was drawn to Driscoll’s municipal government experience and cited their shared affinity for bringing offshore wind to Massachusetts, the outlet reported.
The speaker also endorsed Attorney General Maura Healey for governor.
As Politico noted, state Rep. Tami Gouveia, a member of Mariano’s own caucus, is also running for lieutenant governor. A progressive lawmaker, Gouveia, however, has voted against House leadership, including voting for term limits and same-day voter registration.
Shannon Liss-Riordan is calling on her fellow Democrats in the attorney general’s race to take part in a debate on climate issues this month.
The Brookline labor attorney wants the three candidates to meet sometime in April to mark “Earth Month,” or in May, before the party’s June convention, Politico first reported Thursday.
“We can all agree on the urgency of this issue,” Liss-Riordan said in a statement to the outlet. “I hope Andrea Campbell and Quentin Palfrey will join me in this important discussion to highlight how we must act as a Commonwealth, country and global community to save our planet.” In a letter to Campbell and Palfrey’s campaigns, Liss-Riordan’s campaign manager wrote the debate is a “no-brainer” given the latest IPCC report from the UN.
Responding to calls from state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz’s gubernatorial campaign, Maura Healey’s campaign said Thursday the attorney general will commit to two televised debates ahead of the Democratic primary election in September, but only after the party’s convention in June.
Both candidates will first participate in two “forums” next month: One hosted by the Boston Ward 4 and 5 Democrats on April 19 and moderated by GBH’s Callie Crossley, and a second sponsored by WBUR and the Environmental League of Massachusetts on April 27.
But Chang-Díaz, who has trailed Healey in early polls, has called on her opponent to meet for three televised debates ahead of the party convention, where delegates will select a candidate to endorse.
Her campaign has said the request is similar to one Healey made of her opponent during her first run for attorney general in 2014, and is in line with the debate schedule during the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Earlier this week, Joshua Wolfsun, Chang-Díaz’s campaign manager, called out Healey’s campaign for “dodging” the requests.
Jason Burrell, Healey’s campaign manager, responded on Thursday in a letter to Wolfsun.
Healey will meet for two debates, Burrell wrote, adding that the April forums are “taking place more than a month before the June convention.”
“Maura has pledged to be the most aggressive Governor in the country on climate, and we look forward to the opportunity to have the candidates together on stage answering detailed questions about these critical issues,” Burrell wrote.
On GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” Thursday morning, Healey was asked to outline what she’s agreed to do.
“I have been out there talking to, listening to voters,” Healey said. “I’ve participated in over 70 caucuses, multiple forums, where people have had a chance to hear from me – (and) hear from all candidates, frankly – and that will continue and I look forward to that. I really do.”
Chang-Díaz, in a statement Thursday afternoon, criticized Healey’s counter offer.
“The arrogance of dodging debates is the kind of attitude that drives voters away from our party and from participation in the political process,” the lawmaker said. “I called for three live, in-person, moderated debates sponsored by media organizations before the convention in June. The Attorney General has agreed to zero.”
Notably, Healey, speaking on GBH, referred to the two April forums as “debates.”
“To be clear, these are opportunities where both candidates are present, have an opportunity to talk to one another, have an opportunity to answer questions, so they’re debates,” Healey said. “Again, what’s been great, as always is great when you’re campaigning, is you have the opportunity to hear from and talk to as many people as possible, and I’ve been working hard across the state to do just that, and will continue to over the coming weeks and months.”
But a news release from the Chang-Díaz campaign stated Healey “portrayed two previously-scheduled forums as a substitute for debates before the June convention.”
“Debating is a time honored tradition and essential to our democratic process,” Chang-Díaz said. “While I have participated in many forums and look forward to joining the ones that the Attorney General cited in her letter, they are not a replacement for debates. Our next Democratic nominee must not run away from the issues or their own promises.”
Maura Healey on Wednesday picked up an endorsement from NARAL Pro-Choice America, the national reproductive freedom advocacy group.
“Maura has demonstrated time and again that she will stand up for our fundamental rights,” NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju said in a statement. “With states across the country rushing to ban abortion and Roe v. Wade hanging on by a thread, it is more important than ever that Bay Staters have a governor who will work to safeguard and expand access to abortion care.”
In a press release shared by Healey’s campaign, the group highlighted Healey’s “readiness to stand up for reproductive freedom as governor.”
Last year, Healey was among 24 attorneys general who spoke out against a 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi and led opposition to Texas’s six-week abortion ban in October, the group noted. Healey was also the first statewide Massachusetts elected official to back the ROE Act, the state law that codified and expended abortion access in 2020.
“While Healey served as co-chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association, it became the first and only Democratic campaign committee to require candidates to publicly state their support for abortion rights in order to receive endorsements,” the release states.
Healey, in a statement of her own, said “reproductive freedom is under threat like never before.” “With the looming possibility of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade this June, it will be on our next governor to continue to protect access to safe and legal abortion in Massachusetts, break down systemic barriers to these services, and expand access to comprehensive reproductive care for all,” Healey said. “That’s what I’ve done as a civil rights attorney throughout my career, and it’s what I will do as governor in partnership with advocates like NARAL.”
NARAL told The Boston Globe Healey’s opponent, state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz, did not respond to the group’s questionnaire.
But Chang-Díaz said she never received one.
“NARAL never reached out to my campaign & now claims I didn’t return their questionnaire,” Chang-Díaz wrote on Twitter. “It’s deeply troubling for a national reproductive rights org to shut out women of color and then lie about it.
“I’ll be proud to keep fighting for inclusive reproductive justice as Governor,” she added.
Endorsements continue to flow into the attorney general Democratic primary race.
On Wednesday, Andrea Campbell gained a nod from Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano, who said the former Boston city councilor “has dedicated her entire career not only to advocacy, but to action.”
“Andrea brings her lived experience, one that resonates with so many families across Massachusetts, to everything she does,” Mariano, a Quincy Democrat, said in a statement shared by Campbell’s campaign. “I have the utmost confidence in Andrea’s vision for this office, and am proud to endorse her as our next Attorney General.”
Meanwhile, labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan scooped up support from the National Association of Government Employees – one of the largest labor unions in the state – on Tuesday.
The Quincy-based union represents 22,000 public employees in the Bay State alone.
“When I’m your AG, public servants will always have a strong partner who will fight for the dignity of work,” Liss-Riordan wrote in a tweet.
Gov. Charlie Baker has made his first endorsement in a statewide race this election cycle, backing fellow Republican Anthony Amore for state auditor.
Amore, the director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, was previously a candidate for secretary of state in 2018.
“As an independent and experienced watchdog, Anthony will be able to keep the checks and balances on Beacon Hill and help preserve and continue the work the Baker-Polito administration has done over the last seven years,” Baker wrote in a campaign e-mail to supporters on Monday, The Boston Globe reports.
Amore told the newspaper last week that, if he is elected, one of his goals is “to protect the legacy of Baker and Polito as they leave office.”
“I don’t want to see (their work) undone when he leaves office,” Amore, of Winchester, said.
Amore is the sole Republican in the auditor race. Chris Dempsey, a transportation advocate, and state Sen. Diana DiZoglio are both vying for the Democratic nomination.
As Massachusetts attorney general during the four years President Donald Trump was in the White House, Maura Healey, by her count, sued the Trump Administration over 100 times.
Healey, often among a coalition of state attorneys general that took on Trump in court, challenged the then-president on his travel ban in 2017, the separation of families at the nation’s southern border in 2018, and his changes to the U.S. postal service in the build-up to the 2020 election.
Healey and her counterparts won over 80 percent of those cases, she told Vanity Fair in late 2020.
The lawsuits did little to dissuade Trump.
As a top prosecutor in one of the nation’s bluest states, was Healey taking the Republican to court, regularly, simply political posturing?
Healey says that wasn’t the case.
In an episode of “Sway,” a New York Times podcast, published on Monday, host Kara Swisher asked Healey if “a lot” of the lawsuits were “just performative” or if she was “really going for something” — a question that didn’t sit right with Healey.
“No, we were — I strongly reject the premise of that question,” Healey said.
She continued:
“We saw him try to take away healthcare, try to take away contraception, go after immigrant communities, cut off SNAP benefits, institute the travel ban, which here in Massachusetts, meant that a lot of our companies, our universities, didn’t have students or professors or workers who were able to return to the United States (or) Massachusetts to work.
“It was just like every week, he as doing something harmful, rolling back important environmental regulations that have been put in place to deal with greenhouse gases, tinkering with the census, which would have had the effect of cutting off federal funding to our states.
“So yeah, we sued him probably over 100, times based on things he had done that were illegal, unconstitutional and hurtful to our residents or businesses of the like. And you know what? We won nearly 85 percent of those cases. We went to court, we got orders to block him. And in blocking him, that was important because it was a way to stop bad things from happening. It was sort of sad that we had to be constantly going to court, but we were successful and it was absolutely necessary to hold the line until he left office.”
Healey also clarified that although no Republican attorneys general sued Trump, she believes many of them were afraid of the president and afraid of retaliation.
Trump, a private citizen again, is now the subject of numerous investigations and lawsuits, including a Congressional probe into the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Is there anything that could happen, legally speaking, that would prevent Trump from trying for a second term, Swisher asked?
“Absolutely,” Healey said. “I mean, I think any number of things could happen, including his prosecution.”
Healey entered the race for governor in January and quickly became the frontrunner in early polls of the field of Democratic contenders, despite lacking specifics on her policy proposals.
She spent the early days of her campaign defending her record, including the portion pertaining to public corruption cases as attorney general.
With Massachusetts having its own record of preferring moderate Republicans in the governor’s office, Swisher asked Healey if there is a benefit to having those leaders in a deep-blue state.
“So this probably isn’t going to surprise you, but I think all rules are out the window at this point,” Healey said. “I think that in this time, what people are looking for is somebody they know who’s going to listen to them and to really get things done. I think that’s what people are looking for in government leaders.”
Listen to/read the full episode.
Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Sonia Chang-Díaz’s campaign is calling out their opponent, Maura Healey, over not heeding the state senator’s call for at least three televised debates ahead of the party’s convention in June.
Last week, Chang-Díaz wrote to Healey, the Massachusetts attorney general, requesting the two debate before party delegates meet to select a candidate to endorse this summer.
“Democrats deserve to hear publicly from their candidates for governor on the important issues facing us today,” Chang-Díaz wrote. “This moment calls for leadership that is willing to answer the tough questions and provide fearless commitment to the residents we serve.”
Healey’s campaign subsequently told The Boston Globe Healey has participated in “dozens of caucuses and candidate forums” and will take part in debates before the Sept. 6 primary election.
Joshua Wolfsun, Chang-Díaz’s campaign manager, took aim at Healey over the “dodge” on Monday.
“The people of Massachusetts deserve a governor who will respect the democratic process, not expect a coronation,” Wolfsun said in a statement. “The Attorney General’s move to dodge committing to three debates before the convention is bad for the voters of our state — and inconsistent with her past positions.”
Wolfsun cited an April 1, 2014 tweet from Healey, in which she called on her opponent — when she was first running for attorney general — to debate “at least once a month” until the election that year.
Additionally, Chang-Díaz’s challenge to Healey is in line with the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary, during which candidates engaged in at least three debates and forums before June that year, Wolfsun said.
“Our Democratic nominee for governor shouldn’t be afraid to get on a stage across from other candidates and debate the real issues,” Wolfsun said. “Too much is at stake, and the voters deserve nothing less.”
Early polls have consistently shown Healey with a comfortable lead.
A poll conducted by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation released earlier this month found Healey, with support from approximately 31 percent of those surveyed, was the preferred candidate, even among all candidates, both Democratic and Republican. Chang-Díaz trailed candidates from both parties, with 1.2 percent.
But it’s a long way until Election Day: Just over 50 percent of 750 registered voters surveyed were still undecided.
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