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GOP hopeful Chris Doughty channels past moderate governors in interview

Doughty touted himself as the moderate alternative to former state Rep. Geoff Diehl, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump in October.

Chris Doughty, a Republican businessman from Wrentham, has entered the race for governor. Ebersole Photography LLC

February 13, 2022

2 minutes to read

Wrentham businessman Chris Doughty hopes appealing to Massachusetts’s recent history of electing moderate and business-minded Republicans will win him this year’s gubernatorial race.

Doughty, who joined the race last month, appeared Sunday on “Keller At Large” on WBZ-TV and touted himself as the moderate alternative to his more conservative primary opponent, former state Rep. Geoff Diehl, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump in October.

Diehl has already criticized Doughty for voting for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016, even though Doughty later supported Trump in 2020.

“I’m a businessman, I come from the outside,” Doughty told show host, Jon Keller. “I’m not beholden to any political machines. Like so many citizens, I voted for who I thought made sense at the time.”

Doughty said that during his travels around the state with his wife, Leslie, people have told him they’re looking for someone who is practical, competent, and brings common sense leadership to Beacon Hill.

“I’m hearing that they’re just welcoming of a candidate like myself – someone that’s an outsider, someone that can bring some new perspective in, that can build unity and that people can rally behind,” he said.

Outgoing Republican Gov. Charlie Baker is not seeking a third term, which makes the field wide open. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz and Harvard professor Danielle Allen are running in the Democratic primary.

Baker has been a popular governor statewide and some within the party worry about the electability of someone in the general election endorsed by Trump, who lost the state by a large margin.

Like Baker and former Gov. Mitt Romney, who served from 2003 to 2007, Doughty comes from the corporate world armed with a Harvard degree. A grandfather and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Doughty serves as president of Capstan Atlantic, a metal gear manufacturer.

He’s made public education, affordability, and attracting high-paying employers to the state his priorities in the campaign.

On the heels of Baker lifting the state’s mask mandate for K-12 students and staff on Feb. 28, Doughty told Keller that policymakers should allow data to guide when the mandate should end. However, he outright opposed businesses requiring COVID-19 vaccines for workers, such as the one Mayor Michelle Wu imposed for city employees.

“We don’t want to be the state that sends people away to other states and we’ve already had too many citizens move out,” said Doughty. “We should say to the rest of the nation, ‘Hey, we’re open for business.’”

On public education, Doughty said he wants to know how satisfied parents are with public education, come up with clear performance measurables, and approach education from the perspective of the individual needs of children.

“I think as governor, I would look at it from the individual needs of the children and work my way backwards,” he said.

The Massachusetts primary election is scheduled for Sept. 20.