US primaries: Massachusetts pits Maura Healey, Geoff Diehl for governor’s office

Massachusetts voters have placed Maura Healey and Geoff Diehl on the November ballot for the governor’s office. Charlie Baker decided to vacate the top state office this year, triggering one of the most crucial races in the 2022 Massachusetts primaries.

Maura Healy, a member of the Democratic party, comfortably won the primary race in the left-leaning state. She secured more than 173,088 votes (85.3%) hours after the polls closed.

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Healy, who currently serves as the Attorney General of Massachusetts, defeated Democratic rival Sonia Chang-Diaz, who received more than 30,000 votes.

On the Republican side, Geoff Diehl managed to dominate the polls. The former State Representative defeated GOP opposition Chris Doughty by a difference of more than 10,000 votes. Geoff Diehl had also received former US President Donald Trump’s endorsement for the governor’s office.

Healey, whose only rival for the nomination dropped out of the race but remained on the ballot, will be the heavy favorite in November against Diehl in one of the most liberal states in the nation.

Diehl, the favorite among state Republican Party delegates in Massachusetts, has ties to Trump stretching to 2016, when he served as co-chair for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in the state. Diehl has also opposed COVID-19 protocols and hailed the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

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The challenge for Diehl in the general election is that support of Trump may play well among the party’s conservative wing but could be a political albatross in a state where registered Republicans make up less than 10% of the electorate compared to about 31% for Democrats and about 57% for independents.

Massachusetts has a history of electing fiscally conservative, socially moderate Republican governors — including former governors William Weld and Mitt Romney — to provide a check on overwhelming Democratic legislative majorities. Baker, another Republican in that mold, has remained popular in the state.