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What to know about the Mass. state primary results
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We have a slate of candidates for the November election.
There were some expected results, including Attorney General Maura Healey’s victory march through a largely uncontested Democratic primary for governor. And conservative firebrand Geoff Diehl closed the deal on the Republican side, though opponent Chris Doughty showed a little pluck toward the end of that race, nabbing some high-profile endorsements and garnering enough votes to keep things close for about an hour after polls closed.
If Healey defeats Diehl, as polls and pundits suggest she will, her victory would make history in Massachusetts. She would be both the first woman and openly gay person elected governor in the state, and potentially the first lesbian to hold the office of governor in the U.S.
Other races brought some surprises, including Andrea Campbell’s victory over Shannon Liss-Riordan for the Democratic nomination for attorney general.
Liss-Riordan has spent gobs of her own money in the race, and netted some valuable endorsements from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, among others. But Campbell got a boost late in the campaign when the third person in the race, former Assistant Attorney General Quentin Palfrey, dropped out of contention and backed her bid.
In the night’s ugliest race, interim Suffolk County DA Kevin Hayden defeated Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo. Both men faced serious accusations; Hayden had to answer questions about how he’s handled an investigation of a police officer involved in an alleged road rage incident; and Arroyo fought off allegations of sexual assault in two separate cases from when he was a teenager. No Republicans are running for the office.
Here’s a run down of the rest of the evening’s results and where we go from here:
- In her victory speech last night, Healey struck a bipartisan tone, praising outgoing Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and reiterating her support for sending out tax rebates due to a revenue cap law that will likely be triggered this fall. At the same time, she criticized Diehl for his embrace of former President Donald Trump and opposition to abortion rights laws.
- Diehl, meanwhile, called himself the "candidate for freedom," while calling Healey the candidate for "big government."
- What about the running mates? Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, setting up a historic all-female ticket with Healey, a first for a major party in Massachusetts.
- For the Republicans, things were still up in the air between former state Reps. Leah Cole Allen and Kate Campanale as of 1 a.m., according to the Associated Press. Cole Allen has aligned herself with Diehl, while Campanale had done the same with Doughty. By the early morning, Cole Allen held an almost 9,000-vote lead. You can check for the latest results here.
- One more term for the "Prince of Darkness"? Secretary of State Bill Galvin fended off a Democratic primary challenge from Tanisha Sullivan, the head of the NAACP’s Boston chapter. The 71-year-old is now poised to clinch an unprecedented eighth term in office after the November election. He'll compete against conservative radio host Rayla Campbell, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
- In the race for auditor, Diana DiZoglio will take on Republican nominee Anthony Amore, the security chief of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, to become one of the state’s top watchdogs.
- It wasn't a good night for progressive candidates for district attorney, from Boston to the Berkshires. Out west, incumbent Berkshire County DA Andrea Harrington — who won her first term in 2018 on a platform of progressive change but has since faced criticism of her performance in office — was ousted by defense lawyer Timothy Shugrue. (You can see results in all of the state's district attorney races here.)
While voters were forced to brave heavy rains, there were few major issues at the polls. The exception, of course, being that in Barnstable, a busted vault prevented polling locations in the county seat from opening on time. Galvin secured an emergency court order that allowed voters there to cast their ballots until midnight.
The general election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 8. A new voting law will guarantee at least two weeks of early voting, set for Oct. 22 through Nov. 4. For all state and presidential elections, including this year's, voters can also request to vote by mail, no excuses necessary.
The audio attached to this post is a Morning Edition debrief from reporter Anthony Brooks.
This segment aired on September 7, 2022.
