Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey noncommittal about running for reelection in 2026
Gov. Maura Healey did not say whether she plans to run for a second term as Massachusetts’ chief executive in 2026, telling the Herald in an interview last week that she has not “given it much thought right now.”
Healey, the first woman and openly gay candidate elected governor, has fielded a series of crises since taking office in 2023, including an influx of migrants that have led to massive costs to taxpayers, the meltdown of Steward Health Care, and less-than-ideal state revenues.
The first-term Democrat would have no issue financing a reelection with more than $2.4 million stashed away in her campaign account, according to state regulators. But she has so far remained silent when pressed on the matter.
“I can tell you, I love my job and I feel really privileged to be governor. There’s a lot more I want to do. There’s a lot I’m going to talk about with the State of the State coming up, with a budget that I’m going to file,” she told the Herald. “That’s what I’m focused on. I’m not making a decision yet. I’m not thinking about that.”
A University of New Hampshire poll from July found that 45% of residents in Massachusetts approved of Healey’s job performance as governor, 46% disapproved, and another 10% were unsure. About half of those polled believed that overall, the state was “heading in the right direction,” the survey found.
A large share of Democrats approved of Healey but only 24% of Independents, which make up the vast majority of Massachusetts voters, and 6% of Republicans gave the governor a thumbs up, according to the poll.
The survey was conducted online in July, fielded answers from 509 Bay State residents, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3%, the University of New Hampshire said.
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Massachusetts residents will head to the ballot box in the fall of 2026 to elect the state’s next governor. Republicans have yet to field a candidate though most eyes are on Boston’s mayoral election.
Healey said she has been “really focused on how do we close the year out” and whether she runs again “will get answered at the appropriate time.”