Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey has been elected governor of Massachusetts, making history as the country’s first openly lesbian governor.
Healey, the state’s first woman and openly gay candidate elected to office, defeated Republican Geoff Diehl, a former state representative who had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
Her election returns the governorship to Democrats after eight years of Republican leadership under popular Gov. Charlie Baker, who opted not to seek re-election.
Healey and her running mate, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, were among three all-female gubernatorial/lieutenant-gubernatorial bids in the U.S. to begin Election Day with a chance to become the first couple elected to lead a state.
The Republican ticket of Sarah Huckabee Sanders for governor and Leslie Rutledge for lieutenant governor won in Arkansas. In Ohio, Democrat Nan Whaley and her running mate Cheryl Stephens lost to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
Healey was also one of two openly lesbian candidates running for governor of the country. Healey and Democrat Tina Kotek, a candidate for governor in Oregon, began the day with the opportunity to become the first openly lesbian elected state governor.
Healey, elected eight years ago as the nation’s first openly gay attorney general, broke what is known in Massachusetts as the “attorney general curse.” Since 1958, six former Massachusetts attorneys general have sought the governor’s office. Everything failed.
During the campaign, Healey pledged to expand job training programs, make child care more affordable and modernize schools. Healey has also said that he would protect “access to safe and legal abortion in Massachusetts” following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The 51-year-old also marked what she sees as a number of accomplishments during her time as the state’s top law enforcement officer, including protecting students and homeowners from predatory lenders and suing Exxon Mobil over whether the oil giant misled investors and the public. about their knowledge of climate change.
Healey also targeted OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family over allegations that they misled patients and doctors about the risks of opioids.
During the campaign, the Democrat warned that Diehl would “bring Trumpism to Massachusetts.” Diehl served as co-chairman of former President Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign in Massachusetts and garnered his endorsement for governor in a state that roundly rejected Trump in 2016 and 2020.
Although Healey is the first woman elected governor in Massachusetts, she is not the first to hold the office. Republican Jane Swift, then the lieutenant governor, became acting governor in 2001 when Governor Paul Cellucci resigned to become ambassador to Canada. Swift was never elected governor.
Since 1991, Republicans had held the corner office in the Statehouse for all but eight years when Democrat Deval Patrick was governor.