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Massachusetts gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026

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2022
Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
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General election
Election details
Filing deadline: Pending
Primary: Pending
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Massachusetts

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness
State executive elections in 2026
Impact of term limits in 2026
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
Massachusetts
executive elections
Governor

Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Secretary of State
Auditor
Treasurer
Governor's Council (8 seats)

Massachusetts is holding an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 3, 2026.

Massachusetts holds separate gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial primaries, but the nominees run together on a single ticket in the general election.

To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Governor

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Governor of Massachusetts

Incumbent Maura Healey, Andrea James, Mike Kennealy, and Brian Shortsleeve are running in the general election for Governor of Massachusetts on November 3, 2026.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Lieutenant Governor

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:


Voting information

See also: Voting in Massachusetts

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]

Race ratings: Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
9/9/20259/2/20258/26/20258/19/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Past elections

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2014.

2022

See also: Massachusetts gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Governor of Massachusetts

Maura Healey defeated Geoff Diehl and Kevin Reed in the general election for Governor of Massachusetts on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Maura Healey
Maura Healey (D)
 
63.7
 
1,584,403
Image of Geoff Diehl
Geoff Diehl (R)
 
34.6
 
859,343
Image of Kevin Reed
Kevin Reed (L)
 
1.6
 
39,244
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
2,806

Total votes: 2,485,796
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Massachusetts

Maura Healey defeated Sonia Chang-Diaz (Unofficially withdrew) in the Democratic primary for Governor of Massachusetts on September 6, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Maura Healey
Maura Healey
 
85.3
 
642,092
Image of Sonia Chang-Diaz
Sonia Chang-Diaz (Unofficially withdrew)
 
14.4
 
108,574
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
1,972

Total votes: 752,638
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Massachusetts

Geoff Diehl defeated Chris Doughty in the Republican primary for Governor of Massachusetts on September 6, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Geoff Diehl
Geoff Diehl
 
55.3
 
149,800
Image of Chris Doughty
Chris Doughty
 
44.4
 
120,418
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
769

Total votes: 270,987
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Massachusetts gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

General election for Governor of Massachusetts

Incumbent Charles D. Baker defeated Jay Gonzalez in the general election for Governor of Massachusetts on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Charles D. Baker
Charles D. Baker (R)
 
64.7
 
1,781,341
Image of Jay Gonzalez
Jay Gonzalez (D)
 
32.2
 
885,770
 Other/Write-in votes
 
3.1
 
85,554

Total votes: 2,752,665
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Massachusetts

Jay Gonzalez defeated Robert Massie in the Democratic primary for Governor of Massachusetts on September 4, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jay Gonzalez
Jay Gonzalez
 
64.4
 
348,434
Robert Massie
 
35.6
 
192,404

Total votes: 540,838
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Massachusetts

Incumbent Charles D. Baker defeated Scott Lively in the Republican primary for Governor of Massachusetts on September 4, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Charles D. Baker
Charles D. Baker
 
63.9
 
174,126
Image of Scott Lively
Scott Lively
 
36.1
 
98,421

Total votes: 272,547
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: Massachusetts gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2014
Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngCharles D. Baker/Karyn Polito 48.4% 1,044,573
     Democratic Martha Coakley/Steve Kerrigan 46.5% 1,004,408
     United Independent Evan Falchuk/Angus Jennings 3.3% 71,814
     Independent Scott Lively/Shelly Saunders 0.9% 19,378
     Independent Jeffrey McCormick/Tracy Post 0.8% 16,295
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.1% 1,858
Total Votes 2,158,326
Election results via Massachusetts Secretary of State

See also

Massachusetts State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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Massachusetts State Executive Offices
Massachusetts State Legislature
Massachusetts Courts
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Massachusetts elections: 2025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
State of the state addresses
Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes

  1. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  2. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  3. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018