Massachusetts' primary elections are Tuesday: An open governor's seat among races to watch

Kenneth Tran, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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Massachusetts will be holding this week’s only primaries as nominating season is winding up and voters prepare for November's general elections.

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There are few competitive races in the Bay State Tuesday, but here are the three races to keep an eye on:

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Governor Charlie Baker speaks about East-West Passenger Rail at Union Station in Springfield, Mass., Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022.
Governor Charlie Baker speaks about East-West Passenger Rail at Union Station in Springfield, Mass., Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022.

An open governor's seat

After Republican Gov. Charlie Baker announced he will not be seeking re-election, Democrats saw a chance to flip the governor’s seat blue after Biden won the Bay State by more than 30 percentage points in the 2020 election.

Attorney General Maura Healey will be the Democratic nominee after all other Democrats competing on the ballot withdrew from the race.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey takes questions from reporters during a news conference in Boston on Jan 31, 2017.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey takes questions from reporters during a news conference in Boston on Jan 31, 2017.

Her likely opponent will be Geoff Diehl, who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2018 against Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Diehl is up against businessman Chris Doughty, a political novice who has never run for office before.

Diehl is expected to be the Republican nominee with the backing of former President Trump and the Massachusetts GOP.

A progressive challenger, a lifelong politician

William Galvin, long-term incumbent Democratic Secretary of the Commonwealth, is facing off against progressive challenger Tanisha Sullivan.

Sullivan, president of the NAACP Boston, has pledged to advance voting rights and has criticized Galvin for doing what she says is not enough in the context of heightened election scrutiny following Trump’s false claims of election fraud.

Galvin, who has been in the seat since 1995, enjoys a significant lead over Sullivan polls show. He currently leads her 46%-27% among voters who are solidly behind onte of the two candidates, according to a poll released last week by UMass Amherst and WCVB.

Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl, left, campaigns with Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, right, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022.
Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl, left, campaigns with Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, right, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022.

Attorney general's race in dead heat

With Healey running for governor, the attorney general’s seat is left wide open. Two Democrats are vying for the nomination Tuesday, former Boston City Council member Andrea Campbell and labor attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan from Brookline. .

Campbell has been endorsed by Healey but Liss-Riorda has the backing of Warren and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

The two candidates are neck and neck in recent polling. Liss-Riordan leads Campbell by only one percentage point - 26%-25% - according to the same UMass Amherst/WCVB poll.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Massachusetts primary elections are Tuesday: Races to watch