Massachusetts 2022 Election Tracker

Massachusetts voters will participate in several statewide open races this year, first in the Sept. 6 primary election and then again at the polls on Nov. 8.

Bookmark this page for regular updates on several statewide elections, as well as the Suffolk County District Attorney race.

Endorsements continue to pour in in the Democratic primary race for attorney general.

On Wednesday, Andrea Campbell got a nod from Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano, who said the former Boston councilwoman “has dedicated her entire career not just to defense, but to action.” .

“Andrea brings her lived experience, an experience that resonates with so many families across Massachusetts, to everything she does,” Mariano, a Democrat from Quincy, said in a statement shared by Campbell’s campaign. “I have the utmost confidence in Andrea’s vision for this office and am proud to endorse her as our next Attorney General.”

Meanwhile, labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan won support from the National Association of Government Employees — one of the state’s largest unions — on Tuesday.

The Quincy-based union represents 22,000 public sector employees in the Bay State alone.

“When I am your AG, civil servants will always have a strong partner who will fight for the dignity of work”, Liss-Riordan wrote in a tweet.

Gov. Charlie Baker made his first endorsement in a statewide race this election cycle, supporting fellow Republican Anthony Amore for state auditor.

Amore, director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, was previously a candidate for secretary of state in 2018.

“As an independent and experienced watchdog, Anthony will be able to maintain the checks and balances on Beacon Hill and help preserve and continue the work done by the Baker-Polito administration over the past seven years” , Baker wrote in a campaign email. to supporters on Monday, The Boston Globe reports.

Amore told the newspaper last week that, if elected, one of his goals is to “protect the legacy of Baker and Polito as they leave office.”

“I don’t want to see (their job) canceled when he leaves office,” said Amore, from Winchester.

Amore is the only Republican in the race for listeners. Chris Dempsey, a transportation advocate, and State Sen. Diana DiZoglio are both vying for the Democratic nomination.

As Massachusetts attorney general during the four years President Donald Trump was in the White House, Maura Healey, by her count, sued the Trump administration more than 100 times.

Healey, often a member of a coalition of state attorneys general that has attacked Trump in court, challenged the then-president over his 2017 travel ban, the separation of families on the country’s southern border in 2018 and his changes to the U.S. Postal Service in preparation for the 2020 election.

Healey and her counterparts won more than 80% of those cases, she said. vanity lounge end of 2020.

The lawsuits did little to deter Trump.

As chief prosecutor in one of the bluest states in the nation, did Healey regularly sue the Republican simply for political posturing?

Healey says that was not the case.

In an episode of “Sway”, a New York Times podcast, released on Monday, host Kara Swisher asked Healey if “a lot” of chases were “just performative” or if she “really wanted something” — a question Healey didn’t sit well with.

“No, we were — I strongly reject the premise of that question,” Healey said.

She continued:

“We’ve seen him try to take away health care, try to take away contraception, go after immigrant communities, take away SNAP benefits, institute the travel ban, which here in Massachusetts , meant that many of our businesses, our universities, didn’t have students or faculty or workers who were able to return to the United States (or) Massachusetts to work.

“It was like every week he was doing something harmful, rolling back important environmental regulations that were put in place to fight greenhouse gases, tinkering with the census, which would have had the effect of cutting off the federal funding to our states.

“So yeah, we sued him probably over 100 times, based on things he did that were illegal, unconstitutional, and hurtful to our residents or similar businesses. And you know what? We won nearly 85% of those cases. We went to court, we were ordered to block it. And blocking it was important because it was a way to prevent bad things from happening. It was a little sad that we constantly had to go to court, but we managed and it was absolutely necessary to hold the line until he left office.

Healey also clarified that while no Republican attorney general has sued Trump, she believes many of them were afraid of the president and feared retaliation.

Trump, once again a private citizen, is now the subject of numerous investigations and lawsuits, including a congressional inquiry into the January 6, 2021 insurrection on the United States Capitol.

Is there anything that could happen, legally speaking, that would prevent Trump from seeking a second term, Swisher asked?

“Absolutely,” Healey said. “I mean, I think a number of things could happen, including his pursuit.”

Healey entered the gubernatorial race in January and quickly became the frontrunner in early field polls of Democratic candidates, despite a lack of detail on her policy proposals.

She spent the early days of her campaign defending her case, including the part relating to public corruption cases as attorney general.

With Massachusetts having its own reputation for favoring moderate Republicans in the governor’s office, Swisher asked Healey if there was any benefit to having such leaders in a deep blue state.

“So it’s probably not going to surprise you, but I think all the rules are being ignored at this point,” Healey said. “I think right now what people are looking for is someone they know who’s going to listen to them and really get things done. I think that’s what people look for in government leaders.

Listen/read the full episode.

Democratic Governor hopeful Sonia Chang-Díaz’s campaign is calling out her opponent, Maura Healey, for ignoring the state senator’s call for at least three televised debates before the party’s convention in June.

Last week, Chang-Díaz wrote to Healey, the Massachusetts attorney general, asking for debate between the two before party delegates meet to select a candidate to endorse this summer.

“Democrats deserve to hear publicly from their gubernatorial candidates on the important issues facing us today,” Chang-Díaz wrote. “This moment calls for leadership that is ready to answer the tough questions and provide fearless commitment to the residents we serve.”

Healey’s campaign then recounted The Boston Globe Healey has participated in “dozens of candidate caucuses and forums” and will participate in debates ahead of the Sept. 6 primary election.

Joshua Wolfsun, Chang-Díaz’s campaign manager, took aim at Healey over the “dodge” on Monday.

“The people of Massachusetts deserve a governor who will respect the democratic process, and not expect a coronation,” Wolfsun said in a statement. “The Attorney General’s decision to avoid engaging in three pre-convention debates is bad for our state’s voters — and inconsistent with his past positions.”

wolfsun quoted a tweet from April 1, 2014 of Healey, in which she called on her opponent – when she was a first-time candidate for attorney general – to debate “at least once a month” until the election that year.

Additionally, Chang-Díaz’s challenge to Healey is consistent with the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary, in which candidates participated in at least three debates and forums by June of that year, Wolfsun said.

“Our Democratic gubernatorial candidate shouldn’t be afraid to take the stage in front of other candidates and debate the real issues,” Wolfsun said. “Too much is at stake, and voters deserve nothing less.”

Early polls have consistently shown Healey with a comfortable lead.

A Fiscal Alliance Foundation poll released earlier this month found Healey, with support from about 31% of those polled, was the preferred candidate, even among all candidates, Democrats and Republicans alike. Chang-Díaz trailed candidates from both parties, with 1.2%.

But there is still a long way to go before polling day: just over 50% of the 750 registered voters questioned were still undecided.