Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s powerful new condemnation of the state’s shelter system for migrant families threatens to dent Gov. Maura Healey’s re-election campaign and set up a potential clash between the two Democratic combatants in 2026.

Could it be a preview of a heated DiZoglio-Healey head to head showdown?

DiZoglio has said she’s been urged by supporters to run for governor but it’s not clear whether she would take that step or even run as an independent.

She’s already showed her political muscle by shepherding through a statewide ballot question giving her power to audit the state Legislature, a battle that’s still brewing now.

But the audit she released this week shows why the Legislature is so averse to having her go through lawmakers’ books.

DiZoglio’s audit found the state illegally signed numerous no-bid contracts to house and feed thousands of migrants – and then failed to oversee the contracts – pointing out examples of flagrant abuse costing state taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

It’s why Healey made the announcement on Monday that her administration plans to close all 32 hotel shelters this summer – to preempt DiZoglio’s audit coming the next day.

“A hotel is no place to raise a family, and they are the least cost effective,” Healey said.

Really? Now you’ve suddenly reached that obvious conclusion?

So that’s why you put migrant families in hotels for two years at an exorbitant cost?

But Healey’s last minute conversion won’t work.

The public isn’t buying it. Voters now know what a gravy train the state’s shelter program was for all the hotels and food vendors that supplied housing for migrants, and the audit confirms it.

Maybe it’s because Ed Augustus, the former city manager for Worcester and a former state lawmaker, was placed in charge of the shelter program as Housing Secretary. Is that the way things worked in Worcester – give vendors hundreds of no-bid contracts after declaring an prolonged emergency?

What a complete and utter failure by the Healey administration.

Now Healey is suddenly declaring hotel shelters are no good, because she’s up for re-election next year?

DiZoglio would be a formidable foe for Healey if the auditor decides to run for the state’s highest office next year. She is a seasoned political operator who knows how to do TV interviews and advocate for her causes. But Healey also is a tough opponent and a battle between the two state office holders could be one of the most closely watched and competitive elections in recent years.

Healey already has several Republican opponents running more in the mold of Charlie Baker, who served two terms.

But DiZoglio, from the politically connected world of the Merrimack Valley, would likely be an even tougher campaigner than the flailing Republican Party could put forward.

Healey’s reaction to the audit – that it’s just old news and doesn’t show all she’s done to control shelter spending – is predictable and defensive.

Rather than work with DiZoglio on the audit and really get to the bottom of shelter spending, Healey has chosen to put her head in the sand and react politically.

Healey’s office sent Augustus out to criticize the audit, saying it “misses the urgent need for reform to the flawed system we inherited, the scale of the crisis that was thrust upon Massachusetts during this time, and the magnitude of the turnaround that has occurred.”

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Gov. Maura Healey could see a rival rise in her own party. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)