Massachusetts Democrats to Nominate Candidates This Weekend

With all of the hoopla over the national midterm elections this fall, many have probably forgotten that Massachusetts has a fairly significant governor's race in November.

While all gubernatorial elections are important, this contest is perhaps even more so since there is no incumbent. After serving two terms, Republican Governor Charlie Baker opted not to seek re-election this year. Not only that, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito isn't interested in the job, either.

That means it's a wide-open race.

The Republicans held their 2022 Massachusetts Republican Nominating Convention at the MassMutual Center in Springfield on Saturday, May 21. Geoff Diehl won 70 percent delegate support, but newcomer Chris Doughty garnered 30 percent, forcing a primary election with Diehl on September 6. Doughty only needed 15 percent support to land a spot on the primary ballot.

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The 2022 MassDems Convention is this weekend at the DCU Center in Worcester. The clear favorite going into the balloting for governor is Democrat Attorney General Maura Healey. There is little doubt that Healey will win the lion's share of the votes.

The big question this weekend is how much support will State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz can muster from those Democrat delegates who are even further to the left than Healey.

Like Doughty, Chang-Diaz would need to get at least 15 percent delegate support to secure a spot on the September 6 ballot and force a primary election with Healey.

Still unanswered, at least at the time of this writing, is who Sen. Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley endorse for governor. Should Warren and Pressley back Chang-Diaz, she could easily achieve the goal of making the primary ballot.

Primaries are messy and negative, and neither party wants one. The Republicans will have one, and they are hoping the Democrats will as well when all of the convention votes are counted.