Democratic presidential candidate and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis answers questions during the second presidential debate with opponent Vice President George Bush at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, Ca., Oct. 13, 1988. (AP Photo)
Is Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey a good candidate for governor?
One former governor of Massachusetts thinks so.
Former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis thinks she would be a good fit for the job, if she decides to run, he told NewBostonPost.
“She has been a fine attorney-general and would be a fine governor, but only she can make that decision,” Dukakis said by email Monday.
Dukakis, 88, served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He was the Democratic Party’s nominee for president of the United States in 1988.
Although Healey hasn’t announced her plans, many expect her to run for governor — especially now that incumbent Republican governor Charlie Baker is not seeking a third term. Baker made the announcement December 1 — 34 days ago.
Healey has name recognition and she has won statewide elections twice before. She got 61.7 percent of the vote in her 2014 campaign for attorney general and 69.9 percent in 2018.
If Healey decides to run, she would be the third straight Democratic attorney general to run for governor; the previous two did not succeed.
Martha Coakley, who was the state’s attorney general from 2007 to 2015, unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2014. She lost to Charlie Baker, 48.4 percent to 46.5 percent. Her run came four years after Coakley lost a U.S. Senate special election in Massachusetts to Scott Brown in January 2010; Brown got 51.9 percent and Coakley got 47.1 percent in the race to fill the vacancy created when U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy died.
Before Coakley, Thomas Reilly served as the state’s attorney general, from 1999 to 2007. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in the 2006 Democratic primary. He came in third out of three candidates with 23.1 percent of the vote, as Deval Patrick won the primary with 49.6 percent of the vote. Patrick went on to win, and he served two terms.
On the Republican side, former state representative Geoff Diehl (R-Whitman), former Lowell city council candidate Darius Mitchell, and Quincy resident Kim Duffy are the declared candidates for governor. Diehl has former president Donald Trump’s endorsement.
So far, there are two Democrats in the race: state Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz (D-Jamaica Plain) and Harvard professor Danielle Allen.
Whoever ends up being the Democratic candidate is the favorite to win the race, according to Sabato’s Crystal Ball. It says that the 2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial race is “likely Democratic” now that Baker isn’t running for a third term.
Healey’s campaign could not be reached for comment on Tuesday this week.
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Democratic presidential candidate and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis answers questions during the second presidential debate with opponent Vice President George Bush at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, Ca., Oct. 13, 1988. (AP Photo) 
