Democratic Gov. Maura Healey has secured re-election to a second term, defeating Republican challenger Mike Minogue in what appears to be a landslide victory, according to an update from the Associated Press just one minute after polls closed.
At the latest update as of this writing, the wire news service provided an unofficial tally of 64.9% in Healey’s favor in a very early snapshot, just 31.7% for Minogue and 3.5% for Independent candidate Andrea James, with 31% of votes tabulated.
Cheers erupted in the ballroom of the iconic Boston hotel as CNN announced Healey’s win, along with several other loud cheers for the announcements that Sen. Ed Markey had won re-election over GOP challenger John Deaton.
“I am so happy, I’m so humbled, and I’m so grateful that you’ve given me the opportunity to serve as your governor for the next four years,” Healey told a roaring crowd of hundreds of supporters as she took the stage for her victory speech.
“And a big thank you to my friend, my teammate, and the best lieutenant governor in the United States, Kim Driscoll! It’s pretty funny, could you believe there was talk about not needing a lieutenant governor? To see the people that Kim helps, the houses she has builr, the students that she supports, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Massachusetts doesn’t just need a lieutenant governor, we need Kim Driscoll!” Healey said, taking a slight dig at Minogue’s suggestion that he would not need a lieutenant governor after candidate Shawn Oliver suspended his campaign following a violent OUI crash and arrest.
At the Minogue watch party at the Marriott in Burlington, boos erupted across the full ballroom as screens playing Fox News reported Healey won the race just minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m.
The live feed was turned off just after, as screens turned to Minogue’s logo and speakers went back to blaring AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.”
By 9 p.m., neither candidate had made any remarks at their respective watch parties.
For Healey’s campaign, the strategy throughout the election cycle was portraying the governor as someone who will continue to stand up to President Donald Trump while painting Minogue, who the campaign called “MAGA Mike,” as a supporter of what her supporters would call the worst aspects of Trump’s policies.
Simultaneously, Healey was able to successfully deflect the blame for things like soaring energy prices and the affordability crisis, crucial campaign hurdles, onto Trump.
Minogue’s campaign put a focus on affordability and accountability, attacking Healey for her shortfalls with high energy prices, affordability, outmigration and more while also calling her out for what he describes as a lack of accountability when it comes to these issues.
The Republican also honed in on the sense alleged corruption in the Healey administration, from the arrest and hiring process of disgraced former aide LaMar Cook to the $2 billion state contract for a new Springfield courthouse given to politically connected bidders.
At the Minogue election watch party in Burlington, enthusiastic crowds began to flock into the Marriott ballroom as voting wrapped up Tuesday evening.
Campaign staff said they anticipated the crowd size to be over a thousand, as people in Minogue shirts, colorful cowboy hats and red, white and blue continued to check in in the hotel entrance around 7:30 p.m.
“Who’s here tonight for a victory party?” a campaign speaker yelled from a podium around 7:40 p.m., leading supporters waving Minogue signs in a chorus of “Sweet Caroline.”
Supporters were high energy, with vehicles decked in Minogue stickers and signs filling parking lots around the hotel. Cheers erupted from a side room as the Republican candidate seemed to arrive, though Minogue had yet to address supporters as of just after 7 p.m.
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