Democratic incumbent Maura Healey won a second term as governor of Massachusetts Tuesday, defeating Republican Mike Minogue in a race that saw Healey repeatedly link Minogue to President Donald Trump, who is deeply unpopular in the state.
A huge cheer went up in Healey’s election-night party at the Fairmount Copley Plaza around 8:05 p.m., when CNN projected that Healey, a former attorney general, would win. The Associated Press had called the race even earlier for Healey.
Healey’s celebration also featured other candidates running statewide, including U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, who also drew cheers when CNN announced he had defeated Republican John Deaton.
Midterm Elections 2026
The newly re-elected governor finally took the stage to speak around 9:45 p.m., letting out an exultant cry and pumping her fists. After thanking her lieutenant govenor, Kim Driscoll, her partner, Joanna Lydgate, her family, and her campaign staff and volunteers, Healey turned her focus back to the electorate.
“Most of all, I want to thank every person across the state who took the time to tell me their stories — their joys, their pains, their challenges,” Healey said. “I want you to know it’s your stories that drive me.
“I have an obligation, a responsibility, to get up every day and to drive change with urgency and action,“ she added. “I may not get it right every time. You may disagree with some of the ... decisions that I make. And you should. But I promise you this: I’m going to work my hardest every single day for the things that matter in your lives.”
Healey than ran through a list of issues she hopes to work on during her second term, including building more housing, bringing more energy into Massachusetts, lowering the cost of and expanding access to healthcare, and, as she put it, making Massachusetts a place where young people can afford to stay and thrive.
Pre-election polling showed Healey — who became the first woman and first gay person elected governor of Massachusetts in 2022 — leading Minogue by more than 20 percentage points, even though public sentiment about the state of Massachusetts under her stewardship was mixed.
Healey controlled the contest and ultimately triumphed by casting Minogue as a Trump acolyte who would bring the president’s politics to the state, including a disregard for abortion rights.
She also argued that many of the state’s current challenges — such as the high cost of living — were being exacerbated by Trump’s policies even as Healey fought to address them.
Minogue, an Army veteran and former medical-device company CEO, spent roughly $19 million on his own candidacy. During the campaign, he sent two distinct messages: He cast himself as an apolitical outsider who would unite Massachusetts residents to tackle the problems facing the state, but also railed against what he described as a culture of corruption on Democrat-dominated Beacon Hill.
In the end, Minogue’s ties to Trump — which included hosting a 2024 fundraiser headlined by J.D. Vance and giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Trump-controlled Republican National Committee — proved impossible to surmount, partly because Minogue never found an effective way to distance himself from the president.
In the run-up to Election Day, Minogue had insisted the race was much closer than polls showed, and even suggested that pollsters were knowingly putting out false information to discourage his supporters from voting.
He also accused Healey of trading a new contract for the Massachusetts State Police in exchange for the endorsement of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, an purported quid pro quo Minogue described as “illegal” “corruption.”
Minogue came out to speak to supporters at his election night party at the Boston Marriot Burlington just after 9:30 p.m., an hour and a half after the AP called the gubernatorial race for Healey.
“I want you to know how much I appreciate it, because you guys signed on to a big ask, right?” he said. “Nobody has beaten an incumbent of either party in 52 years. We knew it would be uphill, but also knew this is a tipping point for the election, for our state. So thank you.”
After Minogue thanked his wife and campaign team, he discussed the role his own religious belief had played in his candidacy.
“I am a man of faith,” he said. “I say that with great pride. I want to thank God for giving me the calling and the belief that this was the path that I would serve ... God has a path for us, and we followed his path.
“Together, we can say we have fought the good fight. We have finished the race, and we have kept the faith,” Minogue added, quoting a famous Bible verse.
When Minogue said he had called Healey to congratulate her on her victory, the crowd booed, and some called out “wait!” and “no!,” but Minogue cut them off.
“Listen, listen. This is important. An election determines who holds the office. It does not determine what we believe in,” he told his supporters, who applauded and cheered loudly.
“Don’t lose your enthusiasm,” he continued. “Don’t lose your optimism. Don’t stop believing that Massachusetts can be better, because we know it can.”
