What to watch for in the Massachusetts primaries
With the exception of the governor’s race, the most competitive statewide contests are on the Democratic side.
The 2022 primaries are almost, but not quite, over: Voters in Massachusetts go to the polls Tuesday, the second-to-last election night of the primary season.
2022 Massachusetts elections
With the exception of the governor’s race, the most competitive statewide contests are on the Democratic side.
Here’s what to watch for.
Maura Healey is poised to be the next governor
Democrats are confident that they can reclaim the governorship of Massachusetts in November with Maura Healey, the state attorney general, who is running essentially unopposed for the nomination. Healey’s last competitor, state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz, ended her campaign in June, though her name remains on the ballot because she withdrew too late to take it off.
Limited public polling has shown Healey with a large lead in the general election regardless of who her Republican opponent is, but her path may be smoothest if Geoff Diehl, a former state representative endorsed by former President Donald Trump, wins the nomination over Chris Doughty, a moderate businessman.
Liberal though it is, Massachusetts has a history of electing moderate Republicans to the governorship, as it did with Gov. Charlie Baker, who is not running for reelection. But Republican primary voters have largely rejected moderate candidates this year, and general-election voters in Massachusetts are unlikely to be receptive to a right-wing Republican like Diehl.
A three-way Democratic primary for lieutenant governor
Democrats have a competitive primary for lieutenant governor, with three candidates: state Sen. Eric Lesser, a former staff member in the Obama administration; state Rep. Tami Gouveia, who has a background in social work and public health; and Mayor Kim Driscoll of Salem, who has benefited from a remarkable $1.2 million in spending by a super PAC called Leadership for Mass.
On the Republican side, two former state legislators are competing. Leah Cole Allen is aligned with Diehl, the Trump-endorsed candidate for governor, while Kate Campanale is aligned with Doughty. However, the races are separate on the ballot; the governor and lieutenant governor are not elected as running mates.
A longtime secretary of state is being challenged
Tanisha Sullivan, the president of the NAACP’s Boston branch, is challenging Bill Galvin in the Democratic primary for secretary of state, an office Galvin has held for more than 25 years.
Galvin is presenting himself as an experienced, tested hand who can protect Massachusetts’s election system from right-wing interference. Sullivan argues that the state should do more to increase participation among marginalized groups. She won the support of the state Democratic Party with more than 60% of the vote at a party convention earlier this year, but Galvin has led in the limited public polling of the race.
The Republican primary has only one candidate, Rayla Campbell.
The attorney general’s race divides progressives
Two Democrats are seeking their party’s nomination for the position Healey is vacating, and the race has drawn attention from progressive leaders, who are unusually divided.
Sen. Edward J. Markey, Rep. Ayanna S. Pressley and Healey have endorsed Andrea Campbell, a former Boston council member. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston have endorsed Shannon Liss-Riordan, a labor lawyer who has worked on class-action lawsuits against Uber and other companies.
A third Democratic candidate, Quentin Palfrey, is on the ballot but recently ended his campaign and endorsed Campbell. On the Republican side, Jay McMahon is running unopposed.
A messy district attorney race in Suffolk County
There are two candidates in the Democratic primary for the district attorney of Suffolk County, which includes Boston. The primary will determine the winner in November, because no Republicans are running. The incumbent, Kevin Hayden, has been criticized for his handling of a police misconduct investigation, which he says remains open. Ricardo Arroyo, the Boston councilor challenging Hayden, has been accused of sexual assault.
Arroyo lost a slew of prominent endorsements — including from Warren, Markey, Pressley and Wu — after the allegations, which he denies, were made public.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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