Politics

Democrat Andrea Campbell wins Mass. attorney general’s race

"I am so ready to get to work on behalf of the Commonwealth and behalf of all of you as the next attorney general."

Democrat Andrea Campbell won the Massachusetts attorney general's race Tuesday night. Erin Clark/Globe Staff

By Susannah Sudborough

1 minute to read

Massachusetts voters chose Democrat and former Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell to follow in Maura Healey’s footsteps as the state’s attorney general Tuesday night.

Shortly after 11:45 p.m. with 52% of the vote counted, Campbell garnered 62% of the vote, while her opponent, Republican Jay McMahon, only earned 38%.

“I am so ready to get to work on behalf of the Commonwealth and behalf of all of you as the next attorney general,” Campbell said during a speech Tuesday evening.

Campbell, who was Healey’s chosen successor, was expected to win the race after a tough Democratic primary. McMahon, a conservative Cape Cod lawyer, ran unopposed in the Republican field.

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“If you know me well, you know I have a deep sense of faith and I am not shy about naming it,” Campbell said. “My faith has allowed me to turn significant pain into purpose.”

The attorney general’s race

Campbell’s campaign focused on protecting abortion rights, implementing community-based crime prevention, strengthening the state’s gun laws, and ensuring police accountability and transparency.

Conversely, McMahon’s campaign centered on protecting freedom of speech, freedom from vaccine and mask mandates, abolishing “sanctuary cities,” and investigating election fraud.

For most of the attorney general’s race, the focus was on the hotly-contested Democratic primary, during which Campbell, class action lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan, and former Assistant Attorney General Quentin Palfrey battled for the party’s nomination.

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During the race, they sparred over election funding, safe consumption sites, progressive accolades, and who did and didn’t have adequate legal experience to take on the job of attorney general.

Then, just before the primary, Palfrey dropped out and endorsed Campbell, while Liss-Riordan picked up important endorsements and poured millions more of her own money into her campaign.

Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to beat Campbell, who emerged victorious with a decisive victory on Sept. 6.

After the primaries, Campbell significantly outraised McMahon, who struggled with name recognition, especially after Campbell only agreed to a single debate.

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