Gov. Maura Healey will win a second term leading Massachusetts on Tuesday night, the Associated Press called at 8:01 p.m., one minute after polls closed.
[ 2026 Mass. midterm election results: Live vote count in governor’s race ]
The Arlington Democrat focused her campaign on two main pillars: defending her first-term record against the cost-of-living crisis and positioning herself as a bulwark against Republican President Donald Trump. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll of Salem again accompanies Healey on the ticket.
Republican opponent Mike Minogue challenged Healey on what he alleged was corruption within her administration and insufficient effort to lower costs for Bay Staters amidst an affordability crisis. Healey’s team sought to connect Minogue to the president, who is viewed unfavorably in Massachusetts.
Minogue is a retired biotech executive who broke records for how much personal wealth he poured into his campaign, with the latest numbers showing $19.5 million. At Minogue’s election night party Tuesday, boos rang out when FOX News called the race for Healey around 8:05 p.m.
“Congratulations to Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll on winning reelection tonight in Massachusetts,” Delaware Lt. Gov. Kyle Evans Gay, chair of the Democratic Lt. Governors Association, said in a statement. “Alongside Governor Maura Healey, Kim is part of the first all-women executive team in Massachusetts history, and together they will keep working to grow the economy and make the Commonwealth more affordable.”
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The gubernatorial race focused primarily on economic affordability, government accountability and national political dynamics, and occasionally crossed into personal jabs from the candidates. The race grew more volatile in its final weeks following the high-profile arrest of Minogue’s running mate, Shawn Oliver, for alleged drunken driving and when Minogue accused Healey of engaging in an illegal quid pro quo with the State Police Association of Massachusetts, which she and the union strongly denied.
Most of Healey’s campaign has been backward-looking as she sought to defend and promote her first term. In her second term, voters can likely expect her to double down on accelerating housing production, stabilizing the MBTA, and continuing a focus on Massachusetts’s high cost of living.
She is reelected into a changing national landscape. Healey has spent her political career facing off against Trump, who has only two more years in office. She’ll likely hit the campaign trail in 2028 as a prominent member of the national Democratic Party stumping for presidential candidates, as she did in 2024.
Healey will also likely have a new relationship with Congress, as Democrats are expected to win seats that could give them an edge in Trump’s last two years, and boost federal lawmakers from Massachusetts into positions of national power.
Closer to home, Healey may have to solidify her footing with state Democratic legislative leaders.
The state gas tax emerged as a battleground debate during the campaign — Healey proposed suspending the tax shortly after Minogue recommended a similar idea — leading to a high-profile legislative defeat for the governor at the hands of her own party’s leadership.
The governor also has called for months for the Legislature to advance a number of her priority bills before Election Day without success. In her second term, she’ll have to prove she can work hand in hand with a Legislature that has shown its willingness to block her initiatives.
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