Who is leading the race to be the next governor of Massachusetts?
The answer, according to a poll released by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation this week: Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey. However, there are still plenty of undecideds in the race.
The poll found 52.4 percent don’t know who they would vote for in the election, if it were held today. However, attorney general Maura Healey was the front runner with 29.2 percent support, and former state representative Geoff Diehl (R-Whitman) was in second with 13.5 percent support.
The other three candidates were in single digits. They are Wrentham businessman Chris Doughty on the Republican side; and on the Democratic side Harvard professor Danielle Allen (who dropped out of the race on Tuesday, February 15) and state Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz (D-Jamaica Plain).
“This poll is confirmation that the message of our campaign is resonating with voters,” Diehl campaign chairman Amanda Orlando said in a written statement. “The race for Governor is quite clearly a two-person race between Geoff Diehl and Maura Healey. Our campaign is confident that Republican voters will continue to see the race in those terms through the Republican primary in September. And, once voters consider how Maura Healey’s far-left progressive policies will lead Massachusetts further in the wrong direction, we are confident that voters overall will choose Geoff Diehl to be their next Governor in November.”
But not everyone is buying the results when it comes to the governor’s race.
Political consultant Holly Robichaud, who is working on the Doughty campaign, is skeptical.
“We are not surprised with the results of a poll sponsored by a group that was founded by Diehl’s employer favoring him,” Robichaud said. “With Chris Doughty newly in the race for Governor, the timing of this poll is suspect.”
Doughty announced his run for governor on January 26, 2022, about two weeks before the polling began; the poll was conducted from February 8 to February 10.
The Fiscal Alliance Foundation is a right-of-center organization with ties to the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a fiscal watchdog on Beacon Hill.
Rick Green is the founder of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. He is also the co-founder of 1A Auto Parts. Diehl has served as the director of business development for 1A Auto Parts since December 2020.
MassFiscal spokesman Paul Craney denied that the poll was put out to help Diehl in an email message to NewBostonPost.
“The Fiscal Alliance Foundation was founded by Danielle Webb, esq.” Craney wrote. “Danielle is also the Chair. I think they are mistaken with their claim. The poll’s results speak for themselves. 750 likely voters across Massachusetts gave their opinion on the governor’s race, the ballot question, and Biden’s favorability.”
Healey’s campaign could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Nor could Chang-Diaz’s campaign.
Craney said that the poll is not good news for Healey, despite her lead.
“Our poll shows that without Governor Charlie Baker in the race, a majority of voters do not know yet who they would support,” Craney said. “However, the poll also shows that Healey and Diehl are among the favorites. It may not be the best news for Healey, as she has been elected for eight years and already holds statewide office, but cannot break the 50% mark yet with any partisan voting group.”
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