Honing reelection pitch, Healey frames governor’s race as Trump referendum in Democratic convention speech

Politics admin May 30, 2026 0 Comments

Honing reelection pitch, Healey frames governor’s race as Trump referendum in Democratic convention speech

WORCESTER — Governor Maura Healey on Friday cast this year’s gubernatorial race as a battle against bringing President Donald Trump’s policies to Massachusetts, using a speech at the state Democratic Party convention to link the two Republicans hoping to unseat her to the president’s actions on immigration, abortion, and the economy.

In a roughly half-hour address to thousands of friendly party delegates, Healey positioned herself as the only candidate willing to actively oppose Trump. But she offered few, if any, pledges of what she would seek to accomplish if given another four years in office.

Healey instead fired off her most direct criticisms of former biotechnology executive Michael Minogue and former MBTA chief Brian Shortsleeve, both of whom are competing for the GOP’s nomination in September.

“My opponents, of course, say that, ‘No, we’re not focused on Donald Trump, we only want to focus on what’s happening here in Massachusetts.’ That’s ridiculous,” Healey told the crowd. “And I’ve got news for them: I’m the governor of Massachusetts, and I can tell you that what Donald Trump is doing is hurting the people in Massachusetts every single day.”

Healeyspoke a day before party die-hards will vote to endorse in their marquee matchup this election cycle — the US Senate primary battle between Representative Seth Moulton and Senator Ed Markey.

Both Moulton and Markey need at least 15 percent of delegates’ votes to make the September primary ballot, and a large share of both their efforts this year have centered on swaying party insiders.

But on Friday night, the spotlight at the DCU Center was on Healey, who faces no Democratic primary opponent. In her primetime address, Healey leaned into familiar Democratic talking points by tying her Republican challengers to Trump and casting November’s election as a referendum of sorts on a president who remains deeply unpopular in Massachusetts.

She pointed to Minogue donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to national Republican causes. Federal campaign finance records show Minogue has contributed money to the Republican National Committee and a super PAC that supported President Trump’s successful 2024 campaign.

Healey criticized Shortsleeve for working on the failed 2024 presidential campaign of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and touting the endorsements of Republican US Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Rick Scott of Florida.

Healey also pointed to both men’s wealth. Minogue has largely self-financed his campaign with a record $13.5 million of his own money. Shortsleeve owns multiple homes — including a multimillion-dollar oceanside property — and has given his campaign $400,000.

“They’re are so out of touch with the needs of the people of Massachusetts that they thought Donald Trump was the right choice for Massachusetts,” Healey said. She later added: “Mike Minogue and Brian Shortsleeve stand with Donald Trump. I stand with you. . . . That’s the choice in this election.”

Both Minogue and Shortsleeve have said they voted for Trump in the 2024 election. Minogue cohosted a fundraiser with Vice President JD Vance in the weeks before the vote. But they have also sought to distance Trump from the Massachusetts governor’s race.

In a statement released after Healey’s speech, Shortsleeve knocked the governor for offering “no plan to address the problems she has created.”

“Instead, she spent her speech attacking Washington and shifting blame for her own failed record,” Shortsleeve said. “Rather than taking responsibility for the affordability crisis unfolding under her watch, Healey once again chose political deflection over real solutions.”

Minogue said Healey is offering “more of the same” for a state that he says needs an “economic revival.”

“And blaming others for her mismanagement is not a solution,” he said in a statement to the Globe. “Our people need affordability, accountability, opportunity, and safe communities.”

For Susan Hanam of North Grafton, immigration and the matchup between Moulton and Markey motivated her to attend her first political convention. The 77-year-old said she is concerned about Minogue’s pledge to curtail “sanctuary state” policies in Massachusetts, describing it as a “red flag.”

Healey has sought to provide a bulwark against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the state, though she has repeatedly said Massachusetts itself is “not a sanctuary state.”

“I’m for sanctuary,” Hanam told the Globe. “[Minogue] doesn’t want to make Massachusetts a sanctuary, and I really feel that people deserve a sanctuary.”

Healey’s address Friday was not without issues. At one point, the governor abruptly interrupted her remarks when it appeared teleprompters on the stage were not working to call back out to the stage Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. Healey then walked backstage for a few moments before returning with a physical copy of her speech and joking, “I can remember some things, I can’t remember everything, you know?”

Healey used her convention speech to convince voters she is working to reduce the high cost of living in Massachusetts.

She pointed to a policy she signed into law last year that promised to eliminate broker’s fees for many renters. She also reiterated a pledge to oppose utility rate hikes “every single time.”

“For any number of reasons, right now, people cannot afford life. Everything’s got more expensive: our groceries, gas, clothes,” Healey said. “God forbid you want to go out to dinner once in a while. People are hurting. People are feeling it. And I see that every single day.”

Marc Pacheco, a longtime former Democratic state senator from Taunton, said Healey and Driscoll should use their campaign to lean on their “record” over the last four years, including a $1 billion tax package Healey signed into law during her first year in office.

“I expect they’ll be touting what I believe is an extraordinary record of success for the taxpayers in Massachusetts, for the working families all across the Commonwealth,” Pacheco said prior to Healey’s speech. “And I also suspect she’ll probably have a message about what needs to happen in the future.”