Meeting the gubernatorial candidates: Chris Doughty

Gov. Charlie Baker shocked political watchers a few months ago when he announced he would not run for re-election.

Since then, we've been meeting the candidates who hope to succeed him. That includes two Democrats, Attorney General Maura Healey and State Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, and two Republicans: former state Rep. Geoff Diehl, and now, Wrentham businessman Chris Doughty.

Doughty believes he can be the next Republican to win the top office in this traditionally blue state. He's more moderate than his opponent Geoff Diehl, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Though Doughty says he voted for Trump in 2020, he voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. And he does not subscribe to the false belief the 2020 election was stolen.

He joined us to discuss his platform and why he wants to be Massachusetts' next governor.

(Editor's Note: POLITICO reporter and Massachusetts Playbook author Lisa Kashinsky joined Radio Boston to provide context and analysis following Doughty's interview. Audio from that conversation can be heard via the player atop this post.)

Highlights from this interview have been lightly edited for clarity.

On being seen as the "moderate" Republican in the race:

"If I chose my own labels, it would be: pragmatic, common sense, businessman, fiscally conservative, Republican. You know, someone that listens and works across the aisle, but someone that really comes from the business world and budgeting and finances and being able to run a good government. We have to remember the governor is the largest employer in the state, about $50 billion, about 40,000 employees. So we're looking for a governor that's really capable at running large, complex organizations."

On running in the mold of Republican governors like Charlie Baker and Mitt Romney:

"We have to remember that states compete like businesses do. We compete for businesses, we compete for federal dollars, we compete for population. So I think having these governors that come from a competitive business background is very helpful in our state. Likewise, we're able to be a counterbalance to the kind of extreme spending initiatives that occur in the Legislature. And it's part of the miracle of our state that we've been able to maintain that balance [with Republican governors] for 22 of the last 30 years."

On the possibility of a Democrat winning the state's top office:

"In November, we have an important decision to make, all of us as citizens, which is: do we want to have any conservatives left in the State House? It's an important discussion and hopefully it's taking place at kitchen tables around the state, whether we want to keep a Republican, fiscally conservative governor, in the office. Without it, [the voice of] about 40% of our population will be removed from the State House. And I think that would be a huge loss from my perspective, and I hope other citizens agree with me on that."